Loonatics United: Module 1
by Grant Crose
Summary: Acmetropolis has suffered a devastating attack from its inside, now the Loonatics have to deal with harsh consequences and new menaces. Note: This is a work of mere fiction, any supernatural concept depicted here shall not be believed in or practiced in any way. Violence of any kind is not encouraged in any way.
1. Episode 1: New Routine

Loonatics: United

Episode I: New Routine

"Acmetropolis had suffered several attacks throughout the years, but none like the Hijackers, a parasitic threat that originated from ignorance and fear, worm-like machines capable of taking over any weaponized things like vehicles, laser cannons or…" Tech E. Coyote was interrupted by Duck.

"Oh great! Your diaries again, are you, like, a failed horror b-movie narrator or something?" Duck said.

Tech sighed. "I was just about to tell how amazingly we took down those monsters." He put down his pen shaped recorder. "We must document this kind of stuff for future generations."

Duck chuckled. "More history lessons to study? Man you really want them to suffer."

"There is nothing wrong with a little knowledge Duck, but in your case I understand it." Tech said.

"What was that?" Duck asked angrily.

"Nothing, Einstein." Tech stood up from the couch he was sitting on and headed to the HQ's kitchen.

Duck followed him. "Don't you dare ignore me! You have just insulted me, haven't you? Or maybe you think I'm smart, do you?"

"Just drop it, Duck." Tech said while grabbing his metallic mug from the other side of the kitchen's bar with his magnetic powers, then he took a brown pill from a container and threw it gently into the mug, then in a few seconds the pill turned into coffee.

"Where is Ace?" Duck asked.

"He is looking for more hijackers on the computer." Tech took a sip from his coffee.

"And unfortunately for you guys, I found plenty of them, so you know what to do." Ace had arrived to the kitchen.

Duck growled. "Ten months ago we were fighting against killer machines, and now we are just doing the clean up!"

"It's what happens when there are literally no more mad people with powers, because they are all gone." Ace said. "Our home is a deadly dumpster now, but there are people still living here, the ones who couldn't just pack their stuff and go to another planet, like it or not, this is now our mission, since we were abandoned."

Tech sighed. "Things really changed a lot, but he is right, Duck."

Duck nodded. "Yeah, I just miss the old times."

"All of us." Lexi joined the conversation along with Rev Runner.

"We miss running the fastest we can to stop crazy bad guys who only want to destroy everything that stands in their way just because something like an old vendetta and a weird meteor gave them enough motivation to be evil, but our main goal was always to protect the people and that's exactly what we are doing." Rev said.

Slam had arrived and just crossed his arms and grunted with approval.

"Lexi, Slam, I need you to search in the downtown, my computer wasn't able to track that location, Rev, explore the whole city again." Ace commanded.

"And what will you do, boss?" Duck asked.

"I…I need to figure out some, things." Ace answered. "Go."

Duck chuckled. "And I'm the lazy one." He left with Tech.

"I'll catch up with you in a moment Slam." Lexi said.

Slam nodded and went to the elevator.

Ace sat down on the kitchen's table. "Here we go again."

Lexi sighed and sat down next to him, then she put her hand on his shoulder. "It's been weeks since you last got out of this building, what's wrong?"

Ace looked at her. "It's…" He preferred to remain silent.

Lexi got closer to him. "Do you trust me?"

Ace nodded and chuckled. "Always."

"So, tell me, what's wrong?" Lexi asked.

"I am afraid." Ace said.

Lexi sighed. "I have told you this a million times, what happened was not your fault, it just, happened."

"Tell that to the thousands of lives that were lost that day, Lexi, I always thought we were capable of protecting them all, to do the impossible, but I was all wrong." Ace said.

"You are right, we can't do the impossible I mean who can, but still, we can do all the possible to become better every day." Lexi stood up after kissing Ace briefly. "This conversation isn't over yet." Lexi walked away and got on the elevator.

"Hurray." Ace said, already alone.

Tech and Duck were checking the surroundings of the building; the coyote was scanning the place with a special artifact. "And again, no more hijackers."

"I don't know, maybe you'll get lucky today." Duck said while moving some rubble with his hands.

Tech turned around to face him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh don't you think I don't remember when Ace ordered you not to adopt a hijacker." Duck answered.

Tech grunted. "It could be very useful!"

"Maybe back in the day but now we are just a prevention team, there are no more threats here." Duck said.

"In the planet maybe, but the outside, man that really creeps me out." Tech replied, then his device began to beep. "Duck, move slowly and don't make any noise."

"What? Oh is below me, is below me Tech?! Kill it! Kill it now!" Duck teleported next to him. "Meh I was overreacting."

"Stop talking." Tech pointed his device towards the metallic, tire sized worm that came out from the rubble and shot a green ray to it, making the worm to shut down.

"How is it called? The worm-killer?" Duck asked. "Can I have one?"

Tech ignored him and walked towards the hijacker, he took out a small, spherical device and squashed it on his hand, then it grew into a holographic, transparent bag, he took the worm and put it inside of it.

Duck walked towards him. "Ace is going to kill you if he…"

"If he finds out." Tech looked at Duck menacingly. "Am I clear enough?"

Duck nodded. "Just don't blame me when you unleash the second world's end."

Rev was running at full speed through all the city, glancing rapidly at every single corner in the search of hijackers. "Nope, nope, nope…" He repeatedly said at each place he checked. "Wait." He suddenly stopped in a hill nearby a group of soldiers that were following a male gray wolf who seemed to be their leader, Rev ran cautiously to get nearer to them, then he managed to hear some words from the wolf.

"Start searching boys, those worms won't get out by themselves." The wolf pointed towards the horizon and the soldiers began to search all over the place, Rev gasped and ran away quickly.

Meanwhile, Slam was throwing destroyed cars and rubble while Lexi was walking slowly next to the street trying to hear anything that could lead them to more worms. "Nothing yet Slam?" She yelled.

Slam growled in a negative tone, then he finished searching.

Lexi sighed and came back with Slam. "Okay big guy, let's return to the tower, like always."

Ace was looking through the window at his destroyed home world, thinking about his greatest battles and smirking while doing so, but then almost instantly returning to reality. "I'm so sorry." He placed his hand over the glass, like if he was holding the far city.

Lexi and Slam returned to the HQ, Slam went directly to his bedroom, and Lexi went with Ace. "Don't you prefer watching, like, actual TV?" Lexi asked.

Ace chuckled. "You know there are no more channels working, but this view, is something I have to deal with every day."

Lexi hugged him suddenly. "It's okay."

"Uhm, what is this?" Ace asked with confusion.

"You needed this." Lexi answered.

Ace smiled and hugged her back. "You know what?, I am starting to feel better already."

Lexi broke the hug and placed her hand on Ace's cheek. "Like if I don't know you."

Rev interrupted them after he had arrived unnoticedly. "Ace I found a weird group of soldier wannabes talking about doing the same thing we do every day every night and that is of course looking for those crazy hijacker worms whatever and they looked very suspicious to me like evil suspicious."

Ace scratched his chin and began to think. "Soldier wannabes? That doesn't sound good, like, at all." He said.

The elevator door opened, and Tech walked quickly towards his room. "Nothing again boss, normal day with absolutely no surprises!"

Duck followed him. "Yeah and he is not breaking any specific rule at all so don't worry!" Duck winked at Tech and gave him a thumbs up.

Tech growled at him and shook his head, then he slammed the door of his bedroom.

Duck just walked away from the door and headed to the living room where the others where talking.

Ace sighed. "It's obvious they are hiding something, but now we have more important things to attend, Rev, have you localized this guys?"

"Oh! Didn't think about it." Rev concentrated to use his global positioning powers, after a few seconds he managed to find something. "They are on the abandoned baseball stadium and there are lots of them."

Ace nodded. "New mission Loonatics, it looks like these new guys are going to be interviewed."

"A friendly interview or a tough one." Duck said while thundering his fingers.

"That's up to them." Ace said.


	2. Episode 2: Trust

Loonatics: United

Episode 2: Trust

Tech was on the HQ's hangar; he had already prepared the jet, so they could go on the mission. "You always amaze me, honey." He said to his invention.

"Who are you talking to?" Duck asked as he walked towards him.

"Well to my jet, of course." Tech answered. "Just tell me isn't amazing."

Duck sighed. "You need to go out more." He entered the jet.

"Is everything ready?" Ace asked as he arrived alongside the rest of the team.

"Yeah, she is ready." Tech answered and got in the pilot seat.

"Uhm, she?" Rev asked Lexi before getting inside the aircraft.

Lexi shook her head. "He needs to go out more." She said as she put the belt of her seat on.

The jet left the tower quickly and landed near the baseball stadium in less than a minute. After Tech shut down all of the jet's systems he and the rest of the team got off the aircraft and headed towards the stadium. "Okay, don't worry team, everything is going to be alright." Ace said nervously as he walked.

"Uhm, we are not worried, are you?" Duck asked. "Is our great leader scared?"

"Duck." Lexi said in a tone of warning, then she got next to Ace and took his hand. "I'm glad you decided to come with us."

Ace nodded. "I can't hide forever, and I feel safe at your side." They kept walking until they approached a big metallic door blocking the entrance to the stadium. "Slam, can you do the honors?" Ace said.

Slam clenched his fists and growled with satisfaction as he prepared to punch the door, then he was suddenly attacked by a hijacker, which attached to his face, making him to growl with pain.

"Worms!" Rev said as more hijackers came out from nowhere and began to attack the team, he smashed some of them using his speed.

Tech shot at a pair of worms with his special device, making them to shut down. "I haven't seen this much of them since the collapse!" He lifted up three of them with his powers and threw them towards a pillar from the stadium, destroying them into pieces.

Ace kicked a worm while destroying more with his laser vision. "This is odd! Why are so much of them here?"

Lexi focused on her advanced hearing ability. "I can hear more inside of the stadium." She turned around just in time to grab a worm before it could hit her and smashed it to the ground strongly.

"Too slow!" Duck said before teleporting behind a group of worms and throwing power spheres at them.

Slam was still dealing with the worm that had attached to his face, he ran towards the big door instinctively and began to smash his head against it repeatedly until the worm got destroyed and the door fell down. Slam smiled, then he fainted.

"Uhm, guys." Tech pointed at the immense group of worms that was in front of them inside of the stadium, then they all shut down suddenly.

Slam had recovered from his faint, he stood up rubbing his forehead and complaining.

"So, problem solved, I'll see you at the HQ." Duck said and tried to leave, but Lexi stopped him.

The wolf that Rev had seen previously exited from the stadium passing by the worms and then stood in front of the Loonatics. "I didn't know we had visits today, oh my, you are the Loonatics! The team that was supposed to protect Acmetropolis from the forces of evil!" He walked towards Ace and extended his hand. "It's an honor, general Hill, at your service."

"I've never heard about you." Ace said, ignoring the wolf's gesture.

Hill chuckled and took his cap off. "Well I have to admit it, I am not actually a general, it's just that, my people began to call me that way and I got used to it, besides, the uniform suits me." He pointed at himself, signaling his black military uniform, with the logo of a red eye printed on the chest.

"I'm confused why aren't the evil worms trying to kill you mister Hill?" Rev said after appearing in front of him all of a sudden.

"They have been repurposed." Hill answered.

"For what?" Lexi asked.

"For the cause." Hill said. "They are just a part of the process."

"Are you aware that they are the reason Acmetropolis got nearly destroyed, genius?" Duck argued.

Hill nodded. "I've changed them to do good, to face a bigger threat that is about to come." He chuckled. "Where are my manners, do you want to take a look inside?"

"How do we know this isn't some kind of trap where you lock us down on laser powered cells to torture us and literally don´t leave any rest of our bodies so nobody can suspect about it?" Rev asked.

"Wow, that was, very descriptive." Hill sighed. "I give you my word, so we can trust each other."

Ace hesitated for a moment, then he nodded. "Okay."

They were inside of the stadium, paying attention to the tour Hill was giving to them. "Our people here is very dedicated as you can see, we got technicians, scientists, even chefs to help the cause, but they've also been trained to become strong soldiers." Hill said, making them to glance at the wolves who were doing the mentioned activities. Tech separated from the group briefly to install a camera on a corner of the building, then he returned to the tour.

"And what exactly is your cause?" Lexi asked.

"Everyone thinks that the worms were the worst threat Acmetropolis would have ever face, but we know something much bigger is coming, something powerful and legendary." Hill answered.

"Is it me or this guy is totally out of his mind?" Duck whispered to Tech.

"I would say fifty fifty." Tech said.

Lexi got closer to the general. "Legendary? I don't understand."

"I've always been a great fan of mythology, legends and that kind of stuff, and I think, no, I know those things are, without doubt, totally real." Hill said.

"Now it's a full one hundred percent." Tech said to Duck.

Hill turned around to face them and crossed his arms. "I hope you liked this little visit to our modest facilities, now I believe we can really trust each other." He extended his hand towards Ace again.

Ace nodded and they shook hands. "Thank you general, just be careful with those worms."

"Got it." Hill smirked. "You know where the exit is."

"Uhm, so what now?" Duck said to Ace on the jet.

"He seems to have everything under control, but don't worry, I believe Tech brought his nano cameras with him." Ace answered.

"Always!" Tech said from the cockpit.

The entire team was sitting in the living room talking about what was happening. "I'm still thinking about what kind of threat he was referring to." Ace said.

"He sounded kind of paranoiac to be honest." Lexi said.

"Hope you brought some popcorn guys." Tech turned on the projector to display the video that was streaming from his nano cameras, it showed the inside of the stadium where general Hill was talking with his soldiers.

"I have ended in good terms with those guys, and for the big one, I've already taken care of that matter." Hill walked away from the soldiers, then Tech turned off the projector.

"I'm so confused, is he evil or not, and what's his matter with Slam?" Duck asked.

"Evil, not evil, it doesn't matter, we must keep an eye on him, anything suspicious and we will go after him, with everything we have." Ace answered.

"Is not using deadly hijacker worms enough reason to go after him?" Rev said.

Ace sighed. "To be honest, Rev, I'm not sure about anything right now." He stood up and headed to his room.

It was night already, everyone had gone to sleep, Slam was in his bedroom doing so, he had gone to bed with his suit on. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and got off his bed unconsciously, then he opened the door of his room and went to the elevator.

Slam exited from the tower and walked automatically towards the baseball stadium for about an hour, general Hill was standing in front of the building. Slam stopped walking right in front of him. "Nice to see you again, big guy, please come in, we have big plans for you." The general extended his hand towards the stadium's entrance.


	3. Episode 3: Awakening

Loonatics: United

Episode 3: Awakening

In the midnight, Tech came out from his room to drink some water, on his way to the kitchen, he glanced at the display of the projector that he had left switched on, which was displaying a video of the general Hill and his soldiers following Slam to another site of the stadium turned base. "What the…" Tech said. "Ace!" He yelled.

"What…" Ace said sleepily after coming out of his room rubbing his eyes. "Hill?"

Tech nodded. "And our big friend."

"I don't get it." Ace replied.

"Slam, he entered the base again." Tech rested his hands over the couch.

"Alone?" Ace asked.

"I don't know, call the others." Tech said.

Ace pressed a button that was on a wall which activated a subtle but rather annoying alarm. After a few seconds Duck, Rev and Lexi got out of their bedrooms. "Couldn't you just knock the door?" Duck said.

Lexi yawned. "I know, like, you couldn't choose a better tone when you bought it?"

"I thought we had all come to an agreement at the shop." Ace argued.

"No, you and Tech did." Duck said as he approached them. "I think I was sick the day you bought it, man I won't eat on the street ever again."

Rev ran and got in front of Duck in a split of second. "What's wrong with street food? You can't generalize just because you got sick one time and how do you even know it wasn't by your poor hygiene or the mold that's in the sink…"

"Focus guys!" Tech growled. "Slam is in trouble."

Meanwhile on Hill's base, Slam was inside a big crystal tube next to the general and his assistant, a young, skinny wolf who wore bottle lenses and a lab coat. "The machine is up and running, sir."

Hill nodded. "Thanks Matt, now, activate it."

"Alright." Matt pulled a lever of the console he was in front of and glowing purple energy circles began to go down the tube where Slam was standing, still unconscious, after two minutes, the machine turned off automatically, and a screen that was next to it showed three bars which signalized that the process was complete.

"Formidable." Hill said and walked towards a glowing cage that was among all the machinery, he put a password to open it, then he took a small, cylindrical glass container from its inside, it was keeping a purple substance. Hill nodded at the object he was holding. "Everybody, come here!" He exclaimed. His men came right after his command. "Today, we'll become stronger, thanks to this little but smart guy." He pointed at Matt, who just stood silent. "Who helped me to create this fantastic substance, which is going to give us strength and unbelievable resistance, basically, we'll have the powers of this guy." He now pointed towards Slam.

One of Hill's men raised his hand. "Is that injected? Because I'm particularly afraid of pointy things and I don't want to…"

Hill interrupted with a chuckle. "Don't worry, fellow; you just have to…" He dropped the little container and the purple smoke that came from it began to expand through the room. "Breathe." He embraced the smoke by taking a deep breath and extending his arms. His men began to do the same and the smoke dissipated after a few minutes. Hill exhaled with joy. "How do you feel?"

Matt was looking at himself trying to notice any change. "Uhm, sir, I don't look any different."

"I didn't ask that." Hill took a metallic chair that was on a corner and threw it strongly towards Matt, who reacted with a scream and put his fist in front of his face instinctively to protect himself, which made the chair to shatter into pieces.

Hill laughed and started to clap. "I told you it was going to work!"

"Too bad we are here to ruin it." Ace said as he arrived along the others.

"Sorry about the timing but dressing up at midnight isn't the same as doing it on normal hours I mean you are like in a weird zombie mode that tells you to sleep and rethink your life I hate when that happens in the mornings…" Rev was interrupted.

"Surrender or face the consequences." Lexi said.

"Uhm, you know what to do." Hill said hesitantly to his men.

The wolves approached them with hostility, Ace threw a punch at one with almost no effect on him, the wolf returned the attack and Ace impacted towards a wall and cracked it, then he fell to the ground.

Duck was throwing energy spheres at them, just slowing them a little bit but it wasn't enough to prevent two of them from carrying him and throwing him towards the ceiling, his face smashed right into the ceiling's concrete and then again into the ground.

Lexi was fighting three wolves and was just evading their kicks and punches, she heard a fourth was on his way so she jumped right before he could attack her and he wrongly tackled the other three wolves making all of them to fall unconscious. She landed next to them and stood up. "Come on, really?"

Tech moved some tubes with his ability and threw them towards a pair of wolves who caught them in the air, and one of them threw the tube he had caught back to Tech who couldn't anticipate it and got hit hard with it, he fell down and groaned while laying on the ground.

Rev was running in circles around more wolves and after some time one of them managed to catch his leg and smashed him to the ground. "That's not cool man." Rev said while on the ground.

"Alright, alright I'm genuinely sorry for this I just wanted to show what we were doing here, Matt, take this big guy out of the chamber." Matt nodded and pressed a button which opened the door of the tube. "Come out, you are free to go." Hill's command made Slam to get out of the chamber and recover consciousness, a small device fell off from his forehead, Slam then blinked and looked at his surroundings, confused.

Tech stood up rubbing his head. "What is that?" He said while pointing at the device.

Hill crouched to take the device. "This is a modern mind control chip, my worms needed to use it, I'll be brief, I just borrowed your friend to copy his powers to a substance that made my soldiers a little more, capable." He dropped the chip and stepped on it. "See, now we can all be calm."

"What?! Are you insane?! You kidnapped our friend to empower your people, and you are pretending us to let this go? You are really a mad scientist." Duck said while cleaning the blood from his beak.

Hill sighed. "I apologize for that, and I mean it, but this was necessary."

Ace walked towards him. "Necessary! You literally attacked us!"

"You left me no choice." Hill growled. "Let me tell you all I know about what is coming, and you will be begging me to be your ally, in fact, your abilities shall come very handy, we've been, uhm, how do I put this? Observing you, just give me time to explain."

"I say we take down all of this nonsensical operation." Tech said to Ace.

Ace thought for a moment, then shook his head and grunted before looking at Hill with a straight face. "Explain, now."

Hill sighed in relief. "Okay, you may want to sit down fellows."

"Since the planet's formation, an ancient creature has been sleeping on its depths, it is all in this manuscript." Hill took out an old piece of paper from his jacket. "We managed to translate some phrases and came to the conclusion that whatever is resting down there, is going to wake up soon."

"And?" Duck said.

"And it was made to wipe out all life in this planet." Hill explained. "We have reasons to believe every planet has it's own, uhm wait a second." He read the paper quickly. "Oh, settler."

Duck stood up. "Do you have any proof of this? Because for me this sounds like insane cult stuff."

"I'm glad you asked, Matt, the readings." Hill commanded, to which Matt nodded and opened a graphic on the monitor above the console. "As you can see, huge amounts of energy have begun to increase in the past two years, and each day, they get bigger."

"It might be totally unrelated." Tech said.

"Oh really, let me cite this phrase from the manuscript." Hill unfolded the document completely. "So when the light gets stronger, the settler wakes from its long dream and prepares the land for new life to start."

"It…kinda makes sense." Tech crossed his arms.

"So…" Ace stood up. "Let me know if I understood, these settlers, whatever, kill planets to, uhm, reset life on them?"

Hill nodded. "That's pretty much it, yeah, what we aren't sure about is, for who? Because we still don't know who wrote these papers in the first place, but I guess that matter isn't relevant right now."

"So, what can we do to stop this thing from waking up and killing everything?" Lexi asked.

"We can't, I mean, it is on the center of the earth, instead, we have to stop it when it awakes and arrives to our land." Hill answered. "So, are you with us?"

Ace looked at his team, knowing they were going to let the decision on him. "For now."


	4. Episode 4: Divide and Wait

Loonatics: United

Episode 4: Divide and Wait

"Fear, the greatest enemy, I thought I would never face it again, but man, I was dead wrong." Ace thought as he burned the green, scaly body of a reptilian creature with his eyes, making it to turn into ashes, leaving only its golden armor over them, Ace gazed his surroundings which showed a green colored sky and his team fighting against those reptiles along with Hill's small army on the unpopulated, desert region of Acmetropolis.

Tech was flying with his jetpack over the battlefield crushing the creatures with their own armor using his magnetic powers. "How many of them are there?" He said while landing slowly next to general Hill.

Hill didn't stop aiming and shooting at the closer targets with his plasma rifle. "There can't be too much of them left, then the real party will begin."

Duck teleported over the back of a reptile and began to heat his head with an orange, energy sphere concentrated on his hands while the creature was running angry and confused, screaming monstrously. "Wow, aren't you feeling a little, dizzy?" Duck said while the creature collided with other three of his own kind and knocked them down with himself, making Duck to fall and land next to them. "This won't ever get old."

Slam grabbed two of them by one of their legs and started to smash them towards the sandy ground repeatedly while laughing.

Rev ran fast enough from one point to another to punch the ground after jumping slightly in front of several reptiles which made a huge wave of force that hit them hard and made all of them to fall unconscious. "Yeah Tech was absolutely right about this new move I mean I feel like Slam right now using pure brute force to crush my enemies now I get why that makes him so happy."

Lexi was focused on the big aperture from where the reptiles where exiting from. "I can't hear more coming general, maybe these are…" She punched one in the snout right before he could try to attack her. "The last of them."

"I want to say that's good news but…" Hill was interrupted.

"Yeah, we finish them, and the real problem will come out." Lexi said.

Matt was now wearing a black military uniform, he was fighting one creature using his strength, blocking and giving kicks and punches, he couldn't handle him anymore and a sudden kick made him to fall, before the reptile could attack him again, a purple plasma shot came from nowhere and hit the reptile's head. "I won't let you go that easy." A female, young tiger with long, brown hair stood in front of him, she was wearing a full, black bodysuit with a few red, straight lines printed over it.

"Thanks, Anne." Matt stood up and cleaned the dust from his uniform. "I'm just not accustomed to this fighting stuff you know."

"Excuses." Anne put her gun on his chest, and he took it, then she walked away from him.

"You are pretty tough to be a historian." Matt followed her.

"And you are very weak to be a soldier." Anne replied.

"Hey! You know I'm actually a scientist." Matt said.

"A scientist with super strength." Anne argued.

Matt sighed. "In my defense, I still need training."

"Who is training you?" Anne asked.

Matt chuckled. "At the moment, well, I've always been…"

Anne turned around to look at him. "I can teach you some moves."

"Oh, would you do that for me?" Matt asked.

"Whatever for a member of the team." Anne extended her hand.

Matt nodded and they both shook hands. "Thanks."

Anne smiled. "See you outside of my tent."

After the battle had ended, the Loonatics met with Hill and his army at a little camp they had mounted with technologically advanced tents that Tech invented for the occasion, they reunited at the camp's center where a big led light served as illumination. "Those things are finished, what's next?" Ace asked.

"We just wait until the big one comes out from that hole." Hill answered. "Today we fought with courage and determination, all of us, we deserve a rest before the real battle begins." Hill headed to his tent.

"Where's Jack?" Tech asked before a black colored hijacker worm jumped over him like a dog. "Oh here you are bud! Who did a good job scanning the area? You did!" He began to pet it.

"I still don't know how he managed to convince you to keep it." Duck told Ace.

Ace shook his head. "Neither do I, Duck, neither do I."

"I can't wait to fight that giant, lizard monster." Lexi said while practicing a move with her fists.

"If that new historian girl is right we technically don't know what exactly is this thing it could be a monster, a figurative thing or a world's end prophecy that is supposed to happen who knows when." Rev added.

"Yeah and proof of that are the lizard guys that we battled about half an hour ago, who came from a big hole on the ground." Lexi replied.

"It's a…valid argument, well good night." Rev said before leaving quickly.

"If someone needs me, I'll be in my tent." Ace said and began to walk towards his tent, he put his hand on a recognition pad on the tent's door, a green light illuminated the tent for a millisecond and the doors opened, then he went inside and the doors closed behind him. The tent was sky blue from both the outside and the inside, with two lamps at the sides of an inflatable bed and a small cubic desk below each one of the lamps. Ace laid down on the bed and exhaled. "I really need a rest right now." He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then someone knocked the tent's door. "Who is it?"

"It's me." Lexi said from the outside.

Ace stood up and opened the doors for Lexi, then she came in and the doors closed automatically again. They sat on the edge of the bed. "Why this wonderful visit?" Ace said.

Lexi put her arm over his shoulders. "You look troubled, tell me."

Ace sighed. "Sometimes I wish we could have normal lives, you know, office jobs, a small apartment to return and talk about a rough day while having dinner and finally, forget everything and go to rest, then repeat."

Lexi nodded. "You wish we have never been affected by that meteor."

Ace shook his head lightly. "I know, it's stupid."

"It´s not stupid, Ace, who wouldn't want that in our position, we are about to, probably, fight a giant monster whose mission is to wipe out everything up here." Lexi said.

Ace chuckled. "Yeah, maybe I'm still feeling bad about the collapse."

"You described a nice, simple life a moment ago; my question is, who were you telling your rough day in that supposition?" Lexi asked.

Ace looked at her. "You already know that answer." Ace placed his hands on her face and gave her a kiss. "I can't do this, nor anything without you."

Lexi kissed him back. "You must know that I will be there for you every time you have a rough day, every time you feel lost, every time you need someone."

Ace hugged her strongly. "Thanks."

"Come on! I knew you weren't a fighter, but this is embarrassing." Anne said while holding Matt's head on the ground.

"I know, I'm trash now let me go." Matt begged, then Anne stood up, freeing Matt.

"Okay, we need to work on your concentration, condition, your kicks and punches, resistance, willpower, well, everything." Anne stated.

"Ridiculous, I have super strength and you don't, yet you can beat me." Matt said before standing up and putting his glasses back on.

Anne chuckled. "Not everything is in here." She said as she squeezed his arm. "This is what matters." She put her index finger on his forehead.

"I'm pretty smart in case you didn't know!" Matt exclaimed.

Anne shook her head jokingly. "It's not about intelligence, it's about focus, peace and concentration."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He began to walk away from her.

"So? Tomorrow?" Anne asked.

"It's not like if I have other option." Matt said and finally left.

"Right." Anne said to herself.


	5. Episode 5: The Rise Of The Settler

Loonatics: United

Episode 5: The Rise Of The Settler

The tents started to move violently on the camp by a tremor that was making the ground to shake at the middle of the night, Hill and his men, along with the Loonatics came out rapidly from them ready for battle. "It's coming! When we reach the hole, we'll have to surround it!" Hill commanded. The entire team along with the army's hijacker worms arrived to the aperture and Hill's men surrounded the border of the hole kneeling down with their rifles pointing at it as the Loonatics got in position right behind them, each one covering a corner of the circle formed by the soldiers. A green light came out from the hole before the tremor stopped, then a huge creature jumped out from its inside and the soldiers began to shoot at it without any effect, then the green monster landed at the other side of the aperture, it was a big and strong, male lion who seemed to be a hybrid between reptile and feline, he wore only a pair of white pants and was looking at them furious with his red eyes. Ace began to shoot his eyes' lasers to his chest, the creature just laughed with a deep voice and walked towards the group of soldiers that were near of him, they began to shoot at him with their plasma rifles until he approached them and smashed them with his fist like if they were little insects, doing the same with Hill's repurposed hijackers. The rest of the soldiers backed away with fear and Ace stopped using his laser vision, Slam didn't hesitate to try to battle with the monster, he jumped against its leg and punched it strongly, he gasped and waved his hand by the hardness of the creature's skin, who kicked Slam and sent him about twenty meters away, Rev ran fast towards the monster and tried to use the force of his speed to give him a strong punch, so he ran from its leg to its face and punched him obtaining the same results as Slam, only that he managed to get away from it to avoid a possible attack.

"Tech, I'm out of ideas." Ace said.

"I would recommend to, run." Tech answered.

Ace nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Retreat!" Hill commanded and pointed towards the camp.

The soldiers ran away from the place along with the Loonatics towards the camp, the creature roared beastly and went after them, managing to kill several soldiers on its way, when they all arrived to the camp Tech ran rapidly to his tent and pressed a button which was over one of the desks, then the camp got surrounded by a semi-spherical, red, holographic shield which blocked the monster's first punch, he kept punching until he roared again with fury. "Ziox will destroy you! After ending with everything else." Ziox roared one last time and ran away from the camp.

"Of course he speaks in third person." Duck rolled his eyes.

"You didn't tell me you had installed a shield." Hill said to Tech while glancing at it.

"Precaution, Sir." Tech replied. "But I'm afraid it won't last."

"Why is that?" Hill asked.

"It requires a huge amount of energy to work, our battery will give it, hopefully, ten hours of life as much." Tech answered.

"I see." Hill nodded quite worriedly. "Well, find a solution, fast." He walked away.

Tech was in the camp's lab drawing diagrams on a glass board, then Matt and Anne entered to help him. "Any discovery?" Anne asked as she sat down on a chair.

"I'm afraid not, it's no easy task to make a plan that involves indestructible beings." Tech answered.

Matt shook his head. "Who would have thought we would end in the hands of a giant lizard-ish monster?"

Anne was skipping several pages from an old book she was holding until she stopped on a page. "The soul of his strength resides deep within his home."

"What is that?" Tech turned around to face her.

"A phrase from this encyclopedia about mythology, it's from an old culture that worshiped a creature they believed lived below them." Anne responded.

"Do you think they were talking about, well, him?" Matt asked.

"It makes complete sense." Tech answered for Anne. "Home, that could be the planet's core itself." He walked from the board to the laptop that was on a desktop. "Matt, come here."

Matt walked and stood next to Tech. "Oh my…the energy is still high."

"Home." Anne said. "The soul of his strength."

Tech looked at Matt. "We can't destroy him."

Matt smirked. "But we can decrease the source of his power."

"Anne, you are a genius." Tech and Matt said at the same time.

Anne chuckled. "Classic me." She stood up from the chair. "So, how will we screw up this guy's party?"

"Matt, do we have any solar cells?" Tech asked.

"Of course." Matt said.

"I need you to install two of them on my worm, Jack." Tech whistled, then Jack slid through the tent's entrance that was opened.

"Alright, what will you do?" Matt asked.

"I must find out a way to make the solar cells to not only absorb the core's energy but also to retain it." Tech answered. "Anne, are you good with numbers?"

"Uhm, sure, well I am not a fan but with a calculator I surely can handle that." Anne said.

Tech nodded at her. "That's all we need."

Meanwhile, Ace was talking with Lexi in front of the camp's light, both of them were sitting on an improvised bench. "You should get some sleep." Lexi said.

"We all should, but I don't think we could even be able to blink knowing that an ancient monster is about to destroy us." Ace turned his gaze upwards. "We won't make it through this."

Lexi placed a hand on his upper back. "You don't know that."

"But I feel it, I hadn't felt anything like this on none of our missions, for me there was always hope, but this feels different, like an inevitable ending." Ace lowered his head and locked his gaze on the led light that was in front of him. "The sun won't come out Lexi, not this time."

"Come on, this is not the first time we deal with a near impossible situation, as I said, you just need to rest." Lexi said.

Ace shook his head. "I am thinking about the city, when it was alive with, you know, people walking on the streets, traffic all the time, thousands of voices mixing together and getting lost at the same time, I thought I would never miss that kind of mess, but that mess meant home even if I didn't like it, and now I just want to return there."

Lexi nodded after picturing what Ace had said. "It is hard to remember those times, I know, but in the here and now, there is people that still counts on us, even if they have no idea of what is happening yet."

"I don't want to fail again, Lexi, I did it once and because of that hundreds of people are living with fear on a wasteland." Ace said.

Lexi got closer to him and laid her head over his shoulder. "Sometimes bad things happen, no matter what, sometimes the best we can do is to stand up and keep walking."

"I don't know if I will be able to do that anymore." Ace replied.

"Then, don't fall." Lexi said. "I will catch you."

Rev was running across several areas of the camp continuously, he kept doing so until Duck managed to walk by him. "Hey! Stop that scandal can't you? I'm trying to read and your noise is very annoying."

Rev stopped running right in front of him. "I'm sorry I need to do it otherwise I won't be able to sleep."

"Sleep?! After what has happened?" Duck said.

Rev nodded. "I've always thought that if you ignore the existence of a problem it stops bothering you therefore it doesn't exist, also, since when do you read?" He then noticed that Duck was holding a book.

Duck sighed. "Since never, maybe I am doing the same thing as you, or at least trying to, man those things have actually lots of words, it's crazy." He leaned on the wall of a tent. "I've never been a man of books, or intellect, but you already know that."

"What are you saying?" Rev asked.

Duck chuckled. "Ace is the leader; Lexi is his support, you and Tech are geniuses, Slam is the muscle, but what I am for the team?"

"Okay first of all I don't want to give you any cheap phrase about self-esteem or confidence because we all know those things don't actually work so instead I'm just going to tell you the truth, you are not a genius, you are not a leader, you aren't strong, but yet, Ace hasn't expelled you from the team, he has somehow found something in you that the team needs." Rev said.

Duck looked at him with confusion. "Okay…is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"It's supposed to let you know that you are needed, despite feeling like a nobody, believe me Duck, every screw, every nut plays a fundamental role on huge, powerful machines." Rev disappeared in an instant after using his super speed to get back to his tent.

Duck stood there, thinking about what Rev had told him, then he smirked. "A unique nobody? Well, that's something I can live with."

Tech was rapidly pressing the keyboard, with total attention at the laptop's screen. "You got my numbers, Anne?"

"Sure." Anne put a piece of paper where she had done the operations that Tech had asked her to do over the desktop.

Tech grabbed the piece of paper and nodded at it. "Excellent." He looked at her with a gaze of approval, then he went back to his work on the laptop. "The cells, Matt."

Matt was working on his own desktop reassembling Jack's cover with a screwdriver. "It was no easy task to put those on him, not because of my intellectual capacities, your pet is kinda, aggressive with strangers." Matt said. "But yeah, it's done."

"That's what I wanted to hear." Tech said as Hill entered the tent.

"How are you doing, fellows? Acmetropolis hasn't got too much time left." Hill said.

"Patience general, we already got a solution, we'll need your permission to go on an expedition to the very center of the planet." Tech replied.

Hill raised an eyebrow. "O…kay, granted, I guess, if whatever you want to do works."

"It will, sir." Matt said firmly.

"A real expedition! It´s like a dream come true!" Anne exclaimed.

Hill sighed. "I trust all of you, just come back in one piece." He left the tent.


	6. Episode 6: Departure

Loonatics: United

Episode 6: Departure

Early in the morning, with the sky still painted in green, Tech, Matt and Anne were outside of the aperture along with Jack with the solar cells installed on him. Each one of them wore small backpacks and communication devices around their ears to listen and speak with Hill. "We are about to descend, general." Tech said as he put on a harness just like the others did.

"Alright fellow, we and the rest of your team will stay here if that thing returns, don't doubt to call for help if you need it." Hill said from the other side of the line.

"Everyone ready?" Tech asked.

Matt adjusted the rope that was attached to his harness. "Ready."

"So, we just place the antennas around the place and let Jack do his magic." Anne nodded at herself nervously. "Easy task."

Matt smirked at her. "Scared? Tough girl?"

Anne chuckled falsely. "In your dreams, nerd."

Tech stepped on the first rock inside the entrance to descend as he grabbed his rope. "Okay guys, just follow me."

Matt and Anne did so, and the three of them were now with their feet sticked to the rocky wall, moving one foot at a time, descending slowly. Anne's nervousness could be seen in her eyes; she was looking upwards all the time. "It's just a hole; you won't fall, you won't die…" She whispered, then Matt approached her suddenly.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked as he stopped his steps.

Anne closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Yes." She sighed. "It's the height, that's all."

Matt took her hand. "Step by step Anne, I'm here with you."

Anne stood silent for a moment, then she looked at him. "Step by step." She reached for another rock with her foot; the rock was weakly attached to the dirt so it fell down and left her hanging from her harness for a split of second in which she gasped and Matt gripped her hand stronger.

"It's okay, it's okay, just look at me." Matt said as he went down to her level, then she managed to step on another rock.

"I hate this!" Anne complained.

"We can take you back to the camp if you want…" Matt was interrupted.

"No." Anne shook her head insecurely. "I can do this just, keep…" She felt that what she was about to say would sound stupid.

Matt smiled at her, knowing what she wanted to say. "I'll keep holding your hand."

Anne chuckled. "Thanks." She exhaled. "Let's do this."

Tech was a few more meters below them, next to Jack who was just walking through the wall casually. "How are we doing up there?! You nearly killed me a few moments ago with that rock!"

"Sorry Tech! My bad." Anne replied.

"It's okay!" Tech said as he continued to descend.

In the meantime, Ace was training his laser vision shooting at some piled rocks he had put a few meters in front of him, varying his power in distinct ways. "Boring day?" Lexi asked as she approached him.

Ace had cut a rock in half with his vision before replying. "Sort of, I mean we are literally doing nothing, Tech and the others are doing all the job."

"Maybe is Tech's moment to shine." Lexi placed a hand on his shoulder.

Ace chuckled. "Yeah, I know, but, it's kinda odd to actually have free time without having the weight of the world over my back."

Lexi nodded. "Right, I don't even remember when was the last time we went out."

"Me neither." Ace looked at her. "Maybe we can do something about it when this madness is over."

Rev, Duck and Slam were lying on the sandy ground taking some sun. "This is gorgeous." Duck said, then Slam growled affirmatively.

"I don't even know how Tech managed to let the sun-heat enter through the shield in such a natural way maybe he used some kind of…" Rev was interrupted.

"Just don't Rev, enjoy the moment." Duck said.

"Yeah, I'll ask him later." Rev concluded.

While trying to sleep, Duck managed to hear some voices a few tents away, he tilted his head gently to try to hear better. "I've told you this a million times! This is the chance of our lives, don't you want to be better than this? We can achieve great things, my contact says there are no risks and he wants to meet all of you guys." The voice that Duck heard suddenly got out of his range, which obviously was nothing compared to Lexi's particular ability.

"Meh, not my problem." Duck said to himself.

Tech stepped on the last rock before getting inside a cave that surrounded a green sphere of energy that was on the center. "Intriguing, the energy isn't from the planet's core, this is an isolated form of energy." Moments later Anne and Matt caught up with him. They untied the rope from their harnesses, and Jack was already with them. Tech took off his backpack and unzipped it, then he took out a metallic, cubic antenna out of it. "I'll put mine just here; you cover the rest of the cave with yours." Tech pressed a button on the antenna he had put over the ground and a blue light appeared on its upper part. "Okay, this one is ready."

Matt and Anne nodded, and they went into opposite places of the cave to install their antennas, they did so rapidly and without hassles. "It´s done, Tech." Anne said.

"Your turn Jack." Tech took his hijacker turned pet and placed it nearby the energy sphere with the solar cells facing at it. "Initiate extraction."

Jack made a beeping noise, and the antennas started to emit blue rays towards the worm, then the green light of the sphere started to fade slowly and to travel towards Jack's solar cells.

"It's working!" Matt said as he looked at the odd light spectacle.

"How much long will it take?" Anne asked.

Tech heard Anne's question by the cave's echo. "No more than half an hour."

"Great." Anne sat down on the ground.

Matt approached her and sat down right next to her. "See? It wasn't that bad."

Anne smirked. "Yeah, thanks."

"For what?" Matt asked.

Anne took his hand; she looked into his eyes gratefully, and Matt just smiled.

"General, the plan is working." Tech said waiting for Hill's response through his comm.

"Excellent news fellow, we'll keep an eye on things up here anyways." Hill said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Acmetropolis, Ziox was about to punch a gigantic building just before he started to feel weak, he kneeled down with his hands touching the concrete. "What is this?!" He growled and coughed almost immediately. "My…my home." He said to himself after figuring out what was happening to him, he stood up and began to run back to the place he came from. "My power!"

A soldier was walking around the camp site, surveilling as his boss had told him to do, suddenly he started to hear huge steps coming from far way, each time sounding closer, he gasped and ran quickly to look for Hill, then he found him resting over his tent. "Sir, I heard him!"

Hill raised an eyebrow, then the holographic shield disappeared. "And we've run out of energy it seems." He growled and walked by the soldier. "Get the megaphone out of my tent." The soldier did so as Hill headed to the camp's center accompanied by him, who gave him the megaphone. "Everyone! Take shelter in the last four tents, we have to protect ourselves until Tech and the others do their job! Come on there's no time to loose!" Hill yelled, then his men followed his orders and hid on the last rows of tents. "You too, Loonatics."

Ace went to speak with him along with Lexi, Duck, Rev and Slam. "General, we'll distract the monster so your men can survive this."

"What?! He will destroy you! Just get in those tents, is an order!" Hill commanded aggressively.

Duck crossed his arms. "With all due respect, we only follow orders from our leader." He looked at Ace briefly.

Ace smiled at him and looked back at Hill. "Let your men live, we'll deal with the monster."

Hill thought hesitantly, then he walked towards Ace and extended his hand. "Thanks."

They both shook hands. "It's our job, now get all of your men sheltered." Ace said, then Hill nodded and walked away from them.

"I hope Tech is doing well." Lexi said.

"Look! Its brightness is fading out!" Matt pointed at the energy sphere.

"It's just a matter of time for it to be totally drained." Tech said.

Anne stood up and approached Tech. "But will it happen soon enough?"

Tech shook his head. "I don't know."

Anne lowered her head and scratched her upper arm worriedly, then Matt got into his feet and went next to her. "Don't worry, they'll come up with something." Matt said reassuringly.

Ziox was already on sight, and Lexi had managed to hear him coming from behind the hills. "Get ready boys."

The creature suddenly jumped high, then he landed in front of the five Loonatics. "You." Ziox said with a deep voice.

"Lost something?" Ace shot his laser vision and hit the monster's shin, making him to growl in pain and to get on one knee.

"He is weaker! Tech really figured it out." Rev said and ran rapidly towards his other shin and punched it with the force of his speed, the monster screamed and fell down, his face hit the ground strongly.

Slam had approached the groaning creature and punched his face with both fists, seemingly defeating him.

"Wait, is that everything he got?" Duck walked by the creature's hand cockily. "The bigger they are…" All of a sudden, Ziox caught Duck with his hand, clenching his fist fiercely and making Duck to cough and groan desperately.

"Duck!" Ace yelled and ran towards them, then Ziox got up quickly and smashed Ace with the palm of his hand before grabbing him and tightening his grip. "You won't…" Ace said with a weak tone of defeat, looking at the creature's eyes. "Get away with this…"

Slam growled and approached Ziox to try to hit him again, but the monster reacted and kicked him with little effort, sending Slam to the air, then he hit the ground painfully.

"Hurry up Tech." Lexi said with a broken voice, knowing she wasn't able to do much for their friends in that moment.

Rev began to run in circles around Ziox. "Hold on guys." He repeated to himself while trying to run faster to make some time and keep the monster distracted.

Tech, Matt and Anne were still glancing at the energy that now looked like a little marble. "Hurry." Tech said as he rubbed his hands anxiously.

Suddenly, the cave got completely dark and they all gasped briefly. "Like a light bulb." Matt said.

Tech sighed with relief. "Congratulations guys, we've saved the day." Jack got off the wall and beeped. "Yes, that includes you, buddy."

"Now, where is our stuff? I can't see anything." Anne said.

"Did you bring the lamp? Matt?" Tech asked.

"Uhm, I forgot it." Matt replied with embarrassment.

Ziox had fallen, he was unconscious in front of Lexi and Rev, still holding Ace and Duck with his hands. Rev took out Duck from the dead monster's grip, same as Lexi did with Ace.

"Ace, Ace please stay with me." Lexi was holding Ace's back and head while he laid on the ground, trying to find signs of life, after a few seconds she could hear a heartbeat. She smirked and sighed with relief, then she kissed his forehead.

Duck had resisted Ziox's attack better than Ace did, he opened his eyes slowly and saw Rev's extended hand facing at him, he took it and Rev helped him to get up. "Thanks man." Duck said. "Where's Slam?" Slam growled at Duck's question as he walked towards them.

A day after, the Loonatics were in front of Hill and his men inside of his base at the stadium, parting paths. "I hope we can keep in touch with you to maintain the city safe." Ace said, who was wearing a brace on his left arm.

Hill nodded. "Of course, we make a very good team." He extended his hand. "Thank you fellows, for everything."

"Farewell general." Ace said as they shook hands, then he and the rest left the building.

Hill smirked, then turned to look at his men. "Well, let's get back to work fellows."

Anne was standing next to Matt behind the other soldiers. "So, back to normal I guess."

Matt nodded. "Well, you still have to teach me how to fight."

Anne looked at him. "Oh that's true!"

"But something more basic this time, until I can, you know, be at your level" Matt said.

Meanwhile on the Loonatics' HQ, Slam, Rev and Duck were watching TV at the living room; Tech was in his bedroom upgrading Jack, and Ace and Lexi were in front of the window next to the kitchen, glancing at the city together. "Now I know why you like this view so much." Lexi said. "It gives you hope, to think that one day things will be as they were before."

"After what we achieved these last days, I think everything is possible." Ace looked at her.

"That's the Ace I know and love." Lexi leaned forward and started to kiss him.

Ace hugged her and embraced the kiss. 


	7. Episode 7: Dawn Of Change

Loonatics: United

Episode 7: Dawn Of Change

The team was watching TV on the living room, on the news channel, which was broadcasting images of a male raccoon wearing a blue suit and an orange tie giving a speech over a podium in the center of the city, in front of dozens of people. "Some call me a savior; some dare to call me a hero, but the truth is that I'm not, I just did what had to be done, to give order and purpose to this city, to make it a great place to live again, that's why I came back from the planet I had escaped to, I realized that I had the moral duty to come back here and bring order once again, my home, my family, all of you." He exclaimed through the microphone he was holding tightly, then the people in front of him began to clap joyfully.

"German Gillian, who was to say a wealthy man was Acmetropolis' solution?" Ace said as he was laying on the couch facing the TV.

"Don't wonder why people chose him as president." Lexi added.

"Yeah, he is a very nice guy I mean he brought back my favorite fast-food restaurants and those fancy traffic lights that display a little pixelated guy running for his life, it's awesome." Rev said.

Tech yawned. "I just don't know why he has to give the same speech every time."

Slam growled with concur.

"He has the right to do so; I mean he literally brought the city back from the ashes." Duck replied.

"Are you wearing a Gillian pin?" Tech said after noticing a metallic circle attached on Duck's suit.

Duck covered the pin with his hand. "What? He is kinda awesome, and it was free."

Tech rolled his eyes. "One more to Gillian's fan club."

Ace stood up from the couch. "Lexi, can I talk to you for a minute?" He walked a few steps away from the living room.

"Sure." Lexi said and went with Ace.

"I think this is our chance." Ace said.

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"The thing we talked about a few months ago, about, you know, going out." Ace answered.

Lexi's eyes widened. "Oh, you are right! But, today?"

Ace put both hands on her shoulders. "I can't wait anymore, who knows when things will get messed up again." He smirked. "Come on, we'll find a good place on the new plaza."

Lexi looked at his pleading eyes for a second, then she nodded. "Alright, just let me change my clothes and we'll be good to go."

"Sure." Ace said, then Lexi went into her room, then he got into his own.

Minutes later, they both exited from their rooms, Lexi had put on a pink blouse and a pair of jeans, along with red shoes, and Ace wore a dark blue polo shirt and black sneakers, he had also put on a pair of jeans.

"Wow." They both said while looking at each other.

Lexi chuckled. "So much time without normality, huh?"

Ace nodded. "Absolutely"

Everyone had got into their respective bedrooms, except for Duck, who was still on the living room sitting on a couch and noticed them walking towards the elevator. "Where are you going guys?"

"Uhm, we'll go to the plaza." Ace said before quickly entering the elevator to avoid the possibility of more company.

"Oh." Duck said. "Can I go with you?"

"Uhm." Ace and Lexi shared a concerned look.

Duck chuckled. "Just kidding, Gillian's interview is about to begin, and I won't miss it."

They got in the elevator. "That was so close." Ace murmured.

Ace and Lexi were at the new plaza the president had built at the center of the city, there were lots of restaurants and stores. "So, where do you want to eat?" Ace asked.

Lexi was thinking with her index finger over her chin, then she pointed towards a small restaurant they had walked by. "Italian food! What do you think?"

"Anything you wish." Ace smirked at her, then they entered to the restaurant.

They had chosen a table at the bottom of the place; they were surrounded by a mix of bricks, glass and some art craft. "This is actually impressive, you certainly got an eye for these things." Ace said as he picked the menu from his side of the table.

"Seems I haven't lost practice." Lexi said while reading her menu.

Meanwhile, on the president's office, which actually was just a studio on his own apartment, German was sitting on a chair in front of his desktop, speaking with his assistant, who was a male fox dressed with a white shirt and black pants, he was just walking around the room. "I insist sir; you need to be more careful with yourself, here you are an easy target for dangerous people."

German looked at him with a straight face. "So what, Quentin? I'm not afraid of such things, and I want the people to know I'm just a normal citizen like them, I don't need a real office to do real governing."

Quentin nodded. "I understand."

"Good." German said before standing up. "Look, I know you are very worried about my safety, and I appreciate that, besides, those soldiers from, uhm, The Eye, they have been doing a great job securing the city, everything is fine, and your loyalty is the most valuable thing I have right now." He walked towards him and stood in front of him. "Just do the great job you have been doing, alright?"

"As always." Quentin said, then German left the room. After the president was far enough from the studio, Quentin closed the door and took out his cellphone, he pressed a few buttons and then he waited holding the phone next to his ear. After about a minute his call got answered. "Good evening?! What took you so long to answer?" Quentin sighed. "Just forget it and listen; you'll strike tonight." He rolled his eyes. "Yes! The bank! If something goes wrong just use those special abilities you had told me about." Quentin slammed his fist at the desktop as he walked by it. "You'll have your money! Just get the job done!" He ended the call and put his phone on his pocket, then he rested both of his hands over the desktop.

It was night already, Ace and Lexi had been walking around the plaza for the entire evening, they were sitting on a bench under a palm tree, just looking at the stars, Ace's arm was covering Lexi's shoulders. "This was the best day in years." Ace said.

"I never thought we would be able to do anything like this in a long time." Lexi replied.

Ace looked at her eyes. "And here we are."

Lexi looked him back. "If only we could do this every day."

Ace nodded and smirked with his gaze still locked on hers. "And why not? What stops us now?" He leaned forward and started to kiss her.

Lexi embraced him and they remained that way for a moment, then she broke the hug. They kept looking at each other and trying to enjoy the moment the best they could.

A group of four wolves who wore red armors and helmets, which only revealed their ears and their eyes, got behind the back of a building. Their leader took a step at the front and clenched his fist in front of the gray wall, then he punched it and destroyed it, leaving a great hole that let them pass to the inside, activating an alarm. "Get all the money you can, our payment shall depend on that." He said as he started to put huge amounts of money inside a plastic bag he took out from a pocket of his armor, just as the other three wolves did.

"Now this is a cause I want to fight for!" A wolf said to the one who was at his side.

"You've just read my mind, Nate." The other wolf said.

"How much time we have left, Troy?" The leader asked.

The wolf who was robbing next to the broken wall looked at his watch. "Half a minute before they arrive, captain."

"Very well, Kyle! Nate! Close those bags already, we are getting out of here." The captain yelled, he hung the bag of money over his back and headed to the truck they had parked next to the building, followed by his comrades, until they found two wolves dressed with black military uniforms standing in front of them, holding their rifles.

"Where are you going? Traitors." One of the two wolves said as he aimed his gun at them.

"You are wasting your time." The captain began to walk slowly towards the pair of wolves. "We are four; you are only two."

"But we have weapons, idiot." The other wolf said.

The captain chuckled mockingly. "Guns, how cute." He was now a foot in front of his old partner, then all of a sudden he grasped his neck with his right hand and lifted him from the ground, he started to choke him slowly. The other wolf shot at his armor, making the laser just to vanish over it, having no effect at all, after that, Troy walked towards him and took his life by crushing his head with both hands.

The remaining wolf coughed before saying his last words. "Wherever you go, whatever you do, you'll always fail, The Eye will go after you, Hill will go…" His phrase couldn't get finished, as the captain had crushed his neck entirely.

The captain dropped him next to the truck, then he got inside of the vehicle, same as his men. He turned on the engine, then he took his phone out and called his boss. "Quentin, it's done, we got the money, well we had a small issue with two soldiers of The Eye but they've been terminated, alright boss, see you there." The captain put down his phone and accelerated, heading to the street.

"So? We'll get our payment? Hank?" Troy asked, who was sitting on the copilot seat.

Hank nodded. "Don't worry, I told you this partnership was going to work."


	8. Episode 8: Sorrow

Loonatics: United

Episode 8: Sorrow

The red armored wolves were standing in front of Quentin outside of the building where his apartment was. "Everything seems to be in order." Quentin nodded at the bags of money he was revising, then he approached each one of them to give them their payment. "You've proven to be effective, albeit a little, reckless." The wolves felt somewhat offended by that comment, which could be seen in their now uncovered faces.

"No more incidents, I promise." Hank said as he held the money with his hand.

Quentin looked at him with confidence. "And I believe that, Hank, I must, because you are my only option for me to get what I seek."

"And what is that?" Troy took a step at the front, curious to know what Quentin was talking about.

Quentin smirked. "Answers, solutions, and thanks to the resources you have gotten for me, I am already close to my objective."

"I guess you need something else." Hank added.

"Correct, Hank, and fortunately for you, the task won't be harder than the last one." Quentin said. "I just need you to get me someone."

"Who? Like a kidnapping?" Troy asked.

"Exactly." Quentin nodded. "But, the easy part is that I'm not asking for a specific individual, just bring me a young and healthy one, that's all."

"For what, may I ask?" Hank said.

"I'll use him or her to finish the research I started a long time ago." Quentin answered.

"A science experiment?" Troy crossed his arms, confused and unsettled.

Quentin chuckled. "A life experiment, something beyond every hope and idea our kind has pursued." He approached Hank and extended his hand. "Will you help me in my quest, once again?"

Hank looked at him with a subtle look of fear and uncertainty, then he sighed and shook his hand. "We have a deal, boss."

Quentin smiled at him. "Excellent, the sooner you bring me what I have asked you for, the better your reward will be."

Hank nodded and let go off Quentin's hand. "Come on boys, we have work to do." He commanded and left, followed by the other three.

Quentin stood there for a moment, watching them leave. He got inside of the building and called the elevator, he entered it and pressed a button which led to one of the last floors, where his personal apartment was. He entered his place and closed the door, then he locked it. He headed to a dark room, where the door was open and glanced at a glowing blue monitor that was in the middle of the room, which was part of a huge computer that was being cooled by a few fans that surrounded the machine.

Quentin walked towards the monitor and read the words it was displaying. "Father, when shall I began my quest for life itself?" Quentin smiled with hope at the words he had just read on the command line interface, then he caressed the sides of the monitor. "Patience, my son, everything will be clear when your birth comes."

In the early morning, Ace woke up on his bedroom, he yawned and stretched, then he got his feet out of the bed sheets and looked at the curtains of the window for a moment, blinking occasionally while trying to get enough courage to stand up and start his day. He finally stood up from the bed and reached for the doors of his closet, he opened them and glanced at the clothes that were hanging in there, there were normal clothes like the ones he had wore the day before, and at their side there was his old, everyday suit. He pretended doubt on choosing his attire, but he knew it was time to go back to the routine, even if he didn't want to, not after the magical day he had spent with Lexi, who was on her room stuck in the exact same situation as Ace, they stood like that for about a minute, then they both came back to reality and suited up with their classic, black attires.

They both got out of their respective rooms almost at the same time, then they shared gazes of thankfulness. "Good morning." Lexi said.

"Morning." Ace replied, then they went to the kitchen. Ace grabbed a box of cereal from a shelf, then he took a bottle of milk out of the fridge. He poured the milk on a glass bowl, then he served the cereal over it, Ace walked towards the table that faced the window with a great view of the city and sat down, starting to eat his breakfast almost immediately.

Lexi sat down in front of him, she had picked an energy bar. "Who puts the milk before the cereal?" She bit the bar she was holding. "That's not normal."

Ace chuckled and looked at her. "None of us is." He kept eating his cereal.

Lexi thought briefly, then she nodded. "Good point." She bit another piece of her bar.

The kitchen's door opened fast and remained moving several times as a great breeze entered the room, then Ace and Lexi noticed Rev already sitting along them, eating a sandwich. "Morning guys, sup? What's the mission for today, Ace?" Rev asked.

"Morning Rev, there have been reports of incidents and stuff like that, we'll go to the downtown and patrol the area just to keep an eye on things." Ace answered.

"Piece of cake I guess." Duck said as he entered the kitchen.

"Good morning to you too, Duck." Lexi said jokingly.

"Oh hi." Duck responded carelessly while searching with half of his body inside of the fridge. "Come on, why do we never have good things like roast beef or fried chicken."

"Because you never want to go for supplies with us and prefer to stay here watching TV?" Rev said.

Duck nodded with his head still inside of the fridge. "Fair enough." He finally picked a plastic container which seemed to have leftovers. "The one who seeks, shall find." He closed the fridge's door and exited the kitchen, heading to the living room.

Ace, Lexi and Rev had finished eating their breakfast after a couple of minutes, they cleaned up the kitchen and went to the living room, where Tech and Slam where watching TV along with Duck. "Everyone ready?" Ace asked.

"Ready boss." Tech stood up from the couch he was sitting on, Slam growled affirmatively.

Ace nodded. "Alright then, the city still needs our help."

"Come on! Isn't The Eye taking care of the city already? You know, our last friends." Duck complained, refusing to move from his spot.

"Duck, as long as we breathe, the city will be on our sight." Ace said.

Duck chuckled. "Well, in that case I'll just hold my breath."

Ace growled. "Duck…"

"Alright, alright I'm kidding man, calm down." Duck stood up and headed to the elevator.

Ace rolled his eyes and followed him along with the others.

The team was grouped in the downtown's commercial area. "Tech, Rev, you two will surveil the east zone, you'll go with them Slam, Lexi, Duck and I will cover this area."

Tech nodded. "Okay, we'll contact you if we see something off." He, along with Rev and Slam left to where Ace had told them to go.

"Duck, I want you to patrol these stores, I'll check on the alleys with Lexi." Ace commanded.

"Okay, I'll report any suspiciously high discount on sport gear if I have to!" Duck said sarcastically and walked away from them.

Ace sighed. "I don't know why I am never accustomed to his attitude."

"He is just Duck being Duck, at least he didn't stay at home this time." Lexi said.

"Yeah, maybe you are right." Ace said. "Let´s do this."

Ace and Lexi were resting over a wall inside the alley, each one looking at opposite sides. "The Eye have really done a good job keeping the city safe." Ace said.

"Well, they have Slam's super strength, no one would have any trouble with that gift." Lexi replied.

Ace chuckled. "True, I didn't remember that, but seriously, despite some little problems, I hadn't seen the city in such good shape in years."

Lexi sighed. "I just hope it stays that way."

At the side of the alley that Ace was watching over, a van parked hurriedly on the street, then he saw two, red armored wolves forcing a white, male cat to get on the vehicle which had the doors open. "Hey!" Ace yelled and ran fast towards them followed by Lexi.

"And I had to talk, brilliant." Lexi thought.

Hank was sitting on the driver's seat. "Come on! Get him in!"

After struggling with getting the cat inside, Nate punched him in the face and left him knocked out. "It's done!"

"These clowns! Deal with them, Troy and I will go with the boss." Hank said as he saw Ace and Lexi approaching the van. Nate and Kyle got off the vehicle, then the van left the downtown in a hurry.

"Where are you taking him!" Ace said as he approached them.

"Tell us, or face the consequences." Lexi said.

"I have a better idea." Kyle moved fast towards Ace and punched him on the belly, sending him to the nearest wall and making him to hit it so hard that it got completely destroyed by the impact. Ace ended on the floor surrounded by bricks inside of a coffee shop. The people who where there didn't hesitate to run for their lives.

Kyle walked towards the coffee shop to finish the fight, Lexi tried to approach him but someone had taken her hand. "Where are you going? It is our turn to dance!" Nate threw her towards a lamp post, she gasped and hit it with the back of her head, then she fell to the ground, groaning and struggling to get up. "Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were that fragile!" Nate said mockingly and grasped Lexi's ears with his clenched fist, making her to scream by the pain, he lifted her head and hit her face with his knee several times, then he dropped her and left her laying unconscious next to the bent lamppost.

Ace was laying over the shop's floor, with Kyle's grasp on the cloth of his suit under the neck, ready to throw the last punch. "Now it´s our turn to be the mighty and powerful, bunny."

"Kyle, leave him! We must go!" Nate yelled.

"How fortunate." Kyle let go off the cloth of Ace's suit and ran away with Nate.

Ace began to stand up, groaning and rubbing his arm. He walked quickly towards Lexi and knelt next to her, who was still unconscious. "Lexi!" He placed the side of his head over her chest and sighed with relief by knowing she was still alive. He carried her carefully in his arms and walked into the alley.

Lexi was now laying on a bed on the HQ's infirmary, a place Tech had designed for emergencies of that type. She was covered with a white blanket and wore a hospital gown, her eyes were closed and she breathed weakly. Ace was looking at her from behind the window that faced the room, then Rev suddenly appeared next to him by using his speed. "The one who did this will pay Ace you can be sure about that."

"Can you locate them?" Ace asked.

"Sorry man I didn't see them so right now I can't do anything." Rev answered.

Ace lowered his head. "It's okay Rev, don't worry."

"Maybe when she gets better she could try to hear something that leads us to them." Rev suggested.

Ace nodded with his gaze still on the floor. "You are right, but now the best we can do is to wait her to wake up."


	9. Episode 9: Birth

Loonatics: United

Episode 9: Birth

"Don't worry, she´ll be fine, Lexi is a very strong woman." Tech said reassuringly, he was next to Ace in front of the infirmary's window.

Ace shook his head. "Two days in bed say quite the opposite for me."

Tech put a hand on his shoulder. "Believe me, just give her time." He left Ace alone outside the infirmary.

Ace sighed and entered to see Lexi more closely, he pulled a metallic bench that was next to the door and sat down next to her. He took her hand and began to stroke it gently while looking at her. His gaze was locked into her closed eyes, ideas of losing her came into his mind, which made him to feel lost and hopeless, he tried to forget about those unwanted thoughts by kissing her hand, which he held tightly.

"How is she?" Rev asked Tech, who walked through the automatic door that led from the infirmary to the lab.

"I'm sure she is going to be alright soon, the one who worries me is Ace." Tech said while taking some notes on his digital notepad.

Rev sighed. "I know, this thing affected him more than the hijackers did back on its time."

"Well Ace won't be calmed until she gets better, we should give him some space." Tech said as he walked towards the lab's principal door that led to the living room. Slam and Duck were just sitting there, on the couches, without saying a word.

Slam noticed Tech arriving, then he growled with worry and doubt.

"She'll be fine Slam, I promise." Tech said as he sat down in front of them.

"What's the point of this? Waiting for things to be better just to discover they have gotten worse." Duck said with his gaze on the windows' view.

"Oh come on, Duck! We have faced worse situations than this." Tech argued.

Rev quickly joined them, he was standing behind the couches. "Hi, what did I miss?"

"As long as we try to keep the city safe, we won't do the same with ourselves." Duck answered. "That's pretty much it."

Rev looked at him. "Well is a small price to pay if it is for maintaining peace in our land."

"Oh!" Duck stood up. "Lexi got terribly hurt, but hey, is a small price to pay! Is that what you are saying?"

"Don't put words in my mouth you…" Rev was interrupted.

"Guys calm down! This ain't solve anything!" Tech stood up as he scolded them. Slam, who had also stood up by the brief discussion, growled at them, as he seemed to agree with Tech.

Duck crossed his arms and then shook his head. "Okay." He sighed. "Sorry man."

Rev nodded. "No problem."

In the afternoon, Quentin and his men were traveling on the van through the city's most marginated area, Hank was driving as always and Quentin was on the copilot seat. "What exactly are we going to do in this junkyard?" Hank asked.

Quentin was looking at the poor people and the deteriorated houses through the open window. "We are helping someone."

"You mean test your little project." Nate said from the back side of the vehicle, then Quentin just turned to look at him with a straight face.

"Not my business, got it." Nate gestured like if he had closed his snout with a zip lock.

Quentin turned his gaze back to the scene he was looking at. "You learn fast."

"Just tell me where, boss." Hank said.

Quentin tilted his head gently and searched with his gaze, then he spotted a small building from where a few people with old clothes were coming in and out. He pointed at the place with his hand partially outside of the window. "Right there."

Hank nodded and turned right, then he parked the van in front of the building. He got off the vehicle along with his boss and his three comrades, then they went inside the building carefully. The floor they where in was almost completely dark, people were sleeping on the dirty ground, some of them had noticed their presence, but just ignored it and went back to sleep. Quentin encountered with a pair of glass bottles in one of his steps, then he grabbed them and hit them with each other repeatedly to wake up the sleeping people and to get the attention of everyone. "Good afternoon everybody!" Quentin yelled. "Sorry to interrupt your…activities, but today is your day!"

An old, male dog, one of the people who were sleeping before Quentin came in stood up with hostility. "We are not buying anything, go away and let us die here."

"Don't be afraid brother! We are not sellers, we will change your entire life! For free!" Quentin said.

"I said get out!" The dog took a brick from the floor menacingly.

Hank took a step forward towards the elder, but Quentin stopped him by putting a hand over his chest. "I got this Hank, thanks." Quentin murmured, then he began to walk slowly around the room. "Sickness, the greatest threat we have ever faced, why is it so difficult to eradicate?, why have we been forced to live with such unmerciful weakness? I feel bad to say that I don't know, brothers and sisters, but the great news are that I got a way to cure all of you from your doom! Just stand up and come with us, because this is the day you will rise from the ashes." Quentin raised his hands up, waiting for any volunteer to accept his offer, but no one did so for a couple of minutes, until a black cat stood up in a corner, facing at the wall. "Can you make me see again?"

Quentin smirked. "You'll see the blue skies and the light of the sun stabbing the clouds once again, just come with us, my brave friend." He looked at Kyle and Nate. "Help him come."

They nodded and went to the corner where the blind cat was standing, then they helped him to walk towards where they were. The old dog, still uneasy at them, put a hand on the cat's shoulder. "This must be some kind of trick, Ismael, don't leave us, we watch our backs here."

Ismael tried to move his head to where he thought the dog´s voice had came from. "I won't wait for death here, like you said." He looked back at the front and kept walking with the wolves' help.

"Be happy, for your friend's success, something all of you could have had." Quentin walked towards the entrance along his men and Ismael, they got outside of the building and got inside the van, then they left the area.

On the Loonatics HQ, inside of the infirmary, Lexi began to slowly open her eyes, Ace was at her side, he smiled by seeing her finally waking up. "Lexi?" Ace said.

Lexi blinked briefly, then she looked at him. "Hi."

Ace chuckled with joy. "Hi." He took her hand.

Lexi yawned. "For how much time did I…"

"Two days." Ace interrupted her.

Lexi's eyes widened, her voice's tone got a little higher. "Two days! What happened with the guy, did you manage to help him?"

Ace shook his head. "Maybe it's too soon to say this, but, we wondered if you could help us find him, you know, with your super hearing?"

Lexi nodded. "Okay, I'll just take a shower, get ready and then I´ll help you with that."

Tech opened the room's door and then gasped at seeing Lexi awake. "Oh! Lexi! You woke up! Hi, uhm, how do you feel?"

"I'm great, Tech, thanks, I was in good hands." Lexi said.

Tech smirked. "Wonderful news, do you feel well enough to get back into action?"

Lexi got her feet outside of the bed, then she began to get completely out of it slowly, after moving her hands off the bed sheets, she got to stand in front of them perfectly. "Yeah, I mean I'm not feeling dizzy or something like that, is that a good signal?"

Tech laughed. "It's a great signal."

The night had come, the four red armored wolves were moving a mobile bed through a hallway in Quentin's apartment, where the white, male cat they had kidnapped was laying over, unconscious, wearing now a gray bodysuit with red details, they entered the room where Quentin had the computer. Quentin turned the lights on and took the mobile bed, he moved it next to the computer. "Tonight, we'll change history." He took a wire from under the computer's table, which had a needled end, and connected it to the cat's wrist carefully. "This miracle of technology was not cheap, but thanks to all of you that wasn't a problem."

"You spent all the money we stole in this garbage?" Hank raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this garbage is going to redefine our future, Hank, but I guess you don't understand it." Quentin put his hand over the cat's forehead. "Look, he is waking up already." He said as he managed to notice the cat's eyelids opening slowly.

"Where am I? Who are you?" The cat said.

Quentin looked at Hank. "Initiate the program."

"Let me go…" The cat said as he tried to move, but he had been cuffed to the mobile bed. "Please…please!" He began to yell. "What are you going to do?! Police! Anyone! Help!"

"Now!" Quentin commanded, then Hank nodded and pressed enter on the computer's keyboard. The command line on the monitor began to show various logs, then the wire that was attached to the cat's hand began to glow.

"Ah! This hurts! Stop it! Please!" The cat screamed with pain, while moving violently over the bed. "Why me! Why me! Mercy! Please stop!" He cried out loud.

Lexi was on her bedroom, sitting over her bed with her legs crossed, already wearing her classic black suit, trying to focus on her hearing, her ears twitched a little bit after she managed to hear something. "Screams?" She took a deep breath and tried to focus more. "They are…not too far away." She stood up from her bed rapidly and exited her room, then she walked towards the door that led to Tech's room and knocked it several times. "Tech, it's me, Lexi, I think I've found something."

Tech opened the door, his face looked like if he had been woken up from a deep nap. "Oh are you sure?" He said in a somnolent tone.

"Yes, but I need your help to discover the exact location of the sound's source." Lexi said. "Can you help me with that?"

Tech thought for a moment, then he nodded. "I might have something in the lab that could help."

Quentin's machines had finished with the process, the white furred cat had his eyes fully opened, but they were glowing green, he was just sitting over the mobile bed, Quentin had removed the handcuffs from his hands. "Tell me, who am I?" Quentin asked him.

The cat blinked, then his eyes went to normal. "You are my father."

Quentin smiled at him. "Yes I am, but more importantly, who are you?"

The cat then lifted his hands a little bit, he lowered his gaze at them, looking with curiosity and fascination. He lowered them and looked back at Quentin. "I'm Adam."

Quentin gasped, then he hugged him. "Yes you are." Adam tried to mimic Quentin's action.

"What is this, father?" Adam asked.

Quentin chuckled and broke the hug. "There is so much for you to learn, my son." He looked at Troy who was standing next to Ismael. "Bring him here."

"Uhm, maybe I have reconsidered it." Ismael said with uncertainty.

"Don't be ridiculous." Quentin walked towards him and helped him to get right next to Adam. He took a syringe from a metallic desk that was behind the computer and grabbed Adam's left arm, he lifted the sleeve of his suit, then he used the syringe to obtain some blood from him.

"Is this my mission, my quest, father?" Adam said.

Quentin looked at him while holding the syringe with blood upwards. "Yes, my son." He then grabbed Ismael's arm and injected him with Adam's blood. Ismael gasped, then Quentin removed the syringe's needle from his arm. "Wait for it, my friend, wait for the miracle." Quentin said, expectant at Ismael's reaction.

Ismael lifted his hands slowly and started to touch Quentin's face gently with his fingers. "I remember these blurry colors, orange fur, the white in your snout, I am seeing clearer, I…" Tears went down from his eyes. "I see." He quit his hands from the fox's face and started to look around him. "Oh my…" He covered his mouth with excitement, then he started to jump joyfully. "I can see again! It's a miracle! You really make mi…" He suddenly lost equilibrium and fell down. "What?" He put both hands over his head. "What happened? No! Everything is…black again!" He looked upwards and blinked several times. "No! I want more! I…" He began to cough blood and to cry with desperation."

"Boss! What's happening!" Hank said and walked next to Quentin.

"I don't know! Maybe is a…" Quentin gasped after watching Ismael close his eyes and collapse completely to the thick floor all of a sudden.

Hank knelt by the black cat and put his fingers over his neck, he sighed and looked at his boss." He is gone."

"…mistake" Quentin said.

Adam was looking at the body, horrified and with guilt. "I failed?" He looked at Quentin.

Quentin's gaze was lost on Ismael's corpse. "No, son." He looked at Adam. "I failed."

"My only, unique mission, my purpose, and I failed." Adam said. "I don't deserve to be here!"

"Don't say those things, son!" Quentin put his hand over his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"Stop!" Adam screamed, which made Quentin to step back rapidly. "I don't want to be here." He began to fade.

"What the…" Quentin got next to him again. "Just breathe, son, don't think, don't speak just close you eyes again for me."

"I said I don't want to be here!" A shine of light surrounded Adam in a split of second, then it disappeared along with him.

"What the hell just happened?!" Troy exclaimed.

Quentin growled and kicked the now empty mobile bed. "I don't freaking know okay! Why me! Why me!"

Suddenly, a wall broke in a dozen of pieces, Quentin and his men covered their heads and looked at the figures behind the dust, which quickly dissipated and revealed the Loonatics standing in front of them. "Did somebody order six heroes?" Ace said as Slam thundered his fingers.


	10. Episode 10: Diffusion

Loonatics: United

Episode 10: Diffusion

"You want more! Huh?" Nate said as he and the rest of the wolves got in combat position.

"You'll get it." Kyle added, then he ran towards Ace and threw a punch, Ace blocked it with a kick, then Tech used his powers to throw Troy to a wall by controlling his armor's metal with his powers, then he approached him and started to punch his face.

Hank growled and tried to attack Lexi, she crouched to dodge his punch, then she moved her leg fast to kick his, he gasped and got over one knee, then Lexi stood up quickly and kicked his face with strength, then Slam took his foot and lifted him up, then he smashed him to the ground.

Rev and Duck were fighting Nate, who was being moved continuously from place to place by Rev while Duck shot energy spheres at him. "Do you like that?! Scum!" Duck exclaimed.

"Tech's formula actually worked! Who would´ve thought we would use Hill's questionable but yet effective plan to temporarily gain Slam's strength!" Rev said.

"Yeah! Go ahead Rev, tell these guys our professional secrets!" Duck said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I can't help it." Rev left Nate standing up between them, dizzied and confused, then Duck jumped and threw a sphere at his chest, throwing him to a wall and leaving him unconscious.

Quentin was sitting on a corner, with his arms around his knees, looking oblivious at the fight that was taking place, still thinking about his recent failure.

Ace jumped and dodged a kick from Kyle, then he evaded several punches from him, he then punched his chest, Kyle gasped and then was hit by Troy who had been thrown by Tech's powers, then both wolves were laying on the ground. "I had him!" Ace said.

"Well, two for me then." Tech replied jokingly.

"Game over! Whoever you are." Ace walked towards Quentin, who looked at him with disappointment.

"I…" Quentin sighed, then stood up. "Surrender." He lowered his head.

"Not so fast." Ace crossed his arms. "The cat, where is he?"

"Oh he is right there." Quentin pointed at Ismael's corpse.

Ace looked at the body, enraged, then he grasped the fox's neck. "You murderer! But there´s another one!"

Quentin coughed. "He…disappeared."

"You are lying!" Ace squeezed his neck more tightly.

Quentin struggled to breathe. "I swear…I swear…I don't know where he is…"

"Ace." Lexi said with a tone of warning.

Ace sighed and let go off his neck. "We are late, guys." Ace looked at Quentin, who was trying to recover some air. "Tech."

Tech nodded and went with them, then he handcuffed Quentin with a blue, weird looking strap he had invented. "So you realized you aren't that strong without your brutes, isn't it?"

"You just stole the words from my mouth, bud." Quentin said with resignation. They took him and went outside the apartment along the rest of the team. The jet had been parked over the roof's heliport, Quentin was sitting along the team's members on the back side. "So, I'll go to jail?"

"What do you think? You and your friends will spend a long time there, but first, we need you to answer some questions at the HQ." Lexi responded.

"Whatever." Quentin said.

"And the other guys?" Duck asked as he put his belt on.

"Ace called The Eye, Hill is on his way." Rev said.

"Time to go home guys." Tech said from the cockpit, then the aircraft started to ascend and flew towards the tower.

Quentin was sitting on a metallic chair inside the HQ's lab, surrounded by the team, who were interrogating him. "He was my best creation by far, I wanted him to change things, but I failed, and now he is gone."

Ace took a step at the front. "You didn't create anything, you are just a sick person."

Quentin ignored Ace's words. "I had everyone's lives in my hands, I had the chance to do something about the injustice of nature."

"You really have something wrong in your head, man." Duck said.

Quentin chuckled. "Maybe, but none of you will ever accomplish what I did, for an instant, I gave a blind man his sight again, it was like a brief taste of glory, but then reality hit me like a wave."

"You are just a man, reality is all you can hope to see." Rev said.

Quentin nodded. "I just hope he comes back."

Tech raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"My son." Quentin said.

On a dark alley, Adam was sitting in front of a dirty pond, resting his head against a wall, looking at the moon, a guy with a black hoodie and a pair of jeans walked by him on the sidewalk. Adam had noticed the guy's attire, he lowered his head and looked at his own, then he closed his eyes and the bodysuit morphed into an almost exact copy of the guy's clothes, only that the hoodie retained the bodysuit's red details. Adam stood up and began to walk on the street.

While walking, he glanced at the tall buildings and the occasional big screens showing advertisements, he liked to see the colorful lights of the city and the black sky accentuating its glow.

A car parked next to him, then a pink furred, young female cat got outside the vehicle, then she hugged Adam with tears of joy. "Spencer! You are alive! You are here! You are right here."

Adam didn't hug her back, his face revealed pure confusion and intrigue. "I'm Adam."

The pink cat stopped hugging him and stepped back. "What? No! You are my brother! Come on we will help you…" She had taken his hand to try to get him inside of the car, but he refused to take a single step.

"I'm sorry, your brother is gone." Adam said, then he lifted his hand and made a little pyramid of some sort to appear over his palm, the figure looked like it was made of codes and pixels.

She gasped. "What? No! You are Spencer! What did they do to you?!"

Adam shook his head and stopped doing his little trick. "This is your brother's body, but I'm afraid that he is now far away from here."

Tears began to form on the girl's eyes. "Spencer is dead?" She asked, then Adam nodded. "I couldn't even say goodbye." She began to cry softly. "This isn't happening, I mean, it´s impossible!"

Adam put a hand over her shoulder and looked at her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry that I live because of your brother's demise."

She looked him back. "I won't accept this, you are my brother! Your are right here!"

Adam hesitated before hugging her all of a sudden. "Let go, let Spencer go, it´s all I can do for you now."

She began to embrace him tightly, crying and trying to speak with a lot of effort. "Brother, I'll miss you, everyday, I'll miss you, but I…" Her voice was broken. "I'll see you again, Spencer." She broke the hug gently and looked at Adam one last time. "Thanks, I, still don't understand this." She said.

"No one does." Adam said.

She kept looking at him, refusing to believe what she knew deep inside was true, then she sighed and got inside of the car and closed the door, then she left hesitantly.

Adam stood there, watching the car leaving. He continued with his walk, thinking about what had happened. "Spencer, I'm sorry." He thought. "I am because you are not, I breathed when you stopped doing so, I look like how your family remembers you, my consciousness took over the home of yours, and I hope you've found rest, rest from this ill, limited and beautiful life you lost because of me."

About a day later, Quentin was already living on a cell in Acmetropolis´ prison, wearing an orange uniform with an id number on it. He was sitting on his cot, looking at the floor, putting his thoughts together, then he was interrupted by a guard who knocked the cell's bars. "You got visits."

Quentin raised an eyebrow, then the guard opened the door and left, then German entered the cell. "Quentin." He said with disappointment.

Quentin's eyes widened. "Sir, what are you doing here?" He stood up.

"I had to see it for myself to believe it." German sighed. "I trusted you, you were my right hand, and you used me in order to achieve what you wanted."

"No." Quentin shook his head. "I would never do that, sir, I just, took advantage of my position, that's all."

"Call it what you want! Quentin! You betrayed me! I thought we were friends!" German exclaimed.

"We are sir! I just wanted to make the world a better place!" Quentin pointed at himself.

German lowered his head, then he turned his gaze back at Quentin. "We were doing that already, only that by the correct mediums, you committed lots of crimes, you murdered people!" He sighed. "For now, Acmetropolis will be a better place without you."

Quentin backed away a little, then he sighed. "I guess you are right, who am I fooling."

German extended his hand. "Goodbye, friend." Quentin looked at him, with eyes of regret, then he shook his hand. "I hope you to see this as a chance to find the right path again." German said.

Quentin nodded. "I can try."

German smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Now I recognize you." He walked away from him and exited the cell, then another guard came and closed the door.


	11. Episode 11: The Cat With The Hoodie

Loonatics: United

Episode 11: The Cat With The Hoodie

Matt´s and Anne's turn to surveil the city had come, they were just killing time as nothing remotely dangerous was happening, Anne had took a sip from the cup of tea she had bought from a shop, she was walking along with Matt across the boulevard. "Do you think Hill would be upset if he finds out we are actually just chilling out instead of doing our job?" Anne said.

"Nah, he is to busy searching for more weird threats that could compromise Acmetropolis, so we should be fine." Matt munched the last bit of the hot dog he had been holding. "Besides, things are pretty calm these days." He threw the envelope on a nearby trashcan.

Anne nodded. "Yeah, but don't you forget you still have to practice your fight moves, or should I say, my moves?"

"That doesn't bother me at all, specially with you as my instructor." Matt chuckled.

Anne smirked. "That's what friends do, we help each other."

"Yeah." Matt sighed. "Friends." He said subtly.

"Sorry?" Anne gazed at him.

"Oh!" Matt scratched the back of his neck. "Nothing." He made up a chuckle. "Yeah, friends, good stuff, then, well I, forget it."

Anne raised an eyebrow. "Okay…I'll just pretend you didn't act randomly weird all of a sudden."

"Sorry, it's, uhm, the weather?" Matt blushed a little bit.

"What is going on with you today?" Anne asked.

"I just…" Matt sighed. "It's…" He glanced quickly at his surroundings to find something to get away from the conversation. "Hey, see that guy?" He pointed at a cat who was walking a few meters ahead of them, he was wearing a hoodie.

Anne nodded "Yeah, what's up with him?".

"Uhm, he looks suspicious." Matt argued.

"Why?" Anne crossed her arms.

"I don't know, it's my instinct." Matt said.

Anne grinned with disbelief. "Your instinct? What is going…" She couldn't finish her phrase as Matt took her hand and ran towards the cat.

"Hey mister!" Matt asked while getting closer to him.

"Let go!" Anne shook her hand and freed it from Matt's grip. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Mister!" Matt got more closely to the cat with the hoodie, he patted the guy's shoulder to get his attention, then all of a sudden the guy moved fast and shot a plain black line of codes from the palm of his hand, throwing Matt away from him and making him to hit the ground.

"Matt!" Anne turned to face the guy, whose hoodie's cap had fallen and his face got revealed.

"Leave me alone! I don't want to hurt you!" Adam backed away a little bit from her.

Anne growled. "You are far away from that already." She approached him and wrapped her arm around his head, then she jumped and used her own weight to bring him down.

Adam gasped while Anne was holding him over the ground. "Please, you don't want to do this!"

"I'm the one who decides that!" Anne replied and started to clutch him more tightly.

Matt stood up rubbing his head, then he took a laser gun out of his holster and ran towards them. "Surrender! Now!" He pointed the gun at them, with the intention to scare Adam more than to actually hurt him.

Anne got into her feet slowly while still holding Adam. "I got him, Matt."

Adam yelled. "No! You don't!" His eyes turned green and then a black wave came from him and hit the two of them, making them to fall again.

Anne groaned while trying to get up. "Who the heck are you?" She said as she got in one knee.

"I'm Adam." Adam's normal clothes had morphed back into the red striped bodysuit he wore originally, he was just standing in front of them.

"I don't…" Matt coughed as he stood up again. "…care who you are."

People crowded around the scene and began to take pictures, Adam noticed it and lifted his hand towards the crowd, then their devices stopped working. "The less you know about me, the better." Adam said, then the confused people started to leave.

Matt shot Adam without any warning with his laser gun, he hit his upper arm which made Adam to scream with pain. "You like that?!"

Adam groaned as he placed his hand over the wound, then he removed it and watched the blood that had painted the palm of his hand. "That felt..." He gasped and put his hand back on the wound. "Not good at all."

"It's called a weapon you dummy! Now surrender or the next one will go straight into your head!" Matt ordered as he kept pointing the gun towards him.

"Leave me alone!" Adam made a pyramid of codes to appear from his other hand, then he threw it at the ground and it exploded like a grenade, destroying the concrete and leaving a cloud of dust and smoke over the hole the improvised bomb had created.

Matt and Anne had fortunately got far enough from the explosion to remain safe from it, they had just covered their heads against the little rocks that had been thrown towards their spot by the explosion's wave. "Where is he?" Anne mumbled.

"Maybe he…" Matt gasped after Adam appeared behind him from a shine of light and kicked his back. "I spoke too…" He gasped again as Adam carried him with both arms, then he threw Matt upwards and surrounded him with a conglomerate of codes which simulated a cell, then he lowered him down and left the cell floating over the ground with him inside.

Matt punched the inside of his strange cell with both of his fists. "What is this trick?! Get me out of here!"

"I'm sorry." Adam said.

"You'll be more sorry after I give you a lesson!" Anne approached him again and punched his face, he gasped and began to shoot denser code lines from both of his hands onto the ground, he had positioned his hands in a certain way to let the uncanny, materialized code bars lift him off the ground, on a few seconds he was floating over them.

"You can't beat me, so consider yourself fortunate! As I'm not your enemy!" Adam said with confidence just before the code lines that were exiting from his hands started to fade, he lost balance when they vanished completely and fell down.

The cell that had Matt trapped faded away too, getting him free. "Right on time!"

Anne kneeled down next to the beaten cat, who was laying on the ground. "It seems you aren't that powerful after all."

Adam ignored her, he was looking at the blue sky, confused and shocked. "I'm limited?" He chuckled. "I'm limited! I'm not whole!" He looked at her with a smirk. "I am not whole."

"You what?" Anne rolled her eyes. "Why is everyone, like, crazy today?"

Matt went with them. "I've contacted Hill, he shall know what to do."

"So do we." Tech said as he walked towards the three of them with the rest of the Loonatics. "You actually managed to handle this." He looked at Adam, who was trying to get up.

Matt pretended to laugh modestly. "Oh it's nothing, you know we must be prepared for any kind of…" He was interrupted as Anne stood up.

"The guy seems to have run out of his, power, or whatever." Anne said.

Matt sighed. "Yes, and that."

Ace helped Adam to stand up. "Come on, you should have a good story to tell us." As he managed to get him up, he gasped after recognizing his face. "What?"

"Ace! He is the cat who was kidnapped!" Lexi said with amazement.

"Am I? More correctly, I was." Adam said. "Spencer is dead."

Rev ran and got right in front of him. "Who is Spencer?"

"The girl said it, the cat she mentioned was the previous owner of this body, now he isn't anymore." Adam coughed and started to rub his wound.

"Great! A nutty one!" Duck exclaimed.

"Ace, I think he may be telling the truth." Tech stated.

Ace raised an eyebrow as he looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"It could explain all the technological equipment we found on Quentin's apartment, I've read about this on my scientific magazines, there are theories that say that consciousness can be transferred from a body to another, I guess Quentin managed to do such a task." Tech explained.

"Indeed, my father is a very slick person." Adam added.

"Okay, now that is something I don't understand." Tech said. "Are you two actually, like, father and son? I mean, who would kidnap his own son? That sounds pretty ridiculous, well technically you are another person, but..." He sighed. "Brain pain, long time no see."

"Spencer was no son of him, but Adam very is. My consciousness is not real, it is a simulation that my father had made on a computer, he then looked for a host for my abilities to be exposed to the world, and now I'm here." Adam said.

Ace was thoughtful, he was trying to process Adam's words. "Well, anyways, you must come with us."

Adam nodded. "As long as you don't attack me like these people did."

"Hey! You started it all!" Matt argued.

"It's fair to say it was both's fault." Anne commented.

Adam and Matt sighed at the same time. "Right." They both admitted, only that Adam did so with a more solemn tone.

"Stand where you are!" Hill said as he got down of his carbon colored truck and aimed his rifle at Adam along with his army.

"Calm down, calm down, we got this under control, you can leave." Ace said as he walked closer to The Eye's soldiers.

"Move away, Ace, we must take this fellow with us for preventive isolation." Hill said.


	12. Episode 12: Stranded

Loonatics: United

Episode 12: Stranded

A battle between allies had inevitably begun, Matt and Anne were protecting Adam from the wolves' shots while running and seeking for a place to take cover from the duel between The Eye and the Loonatics. Ace was firing his laser vision at Duck's spheres which had been thrown towards the army, making the orbs to explode in the air right in front of the groups of soldiers and sending them with a hard hit onto their heavy vehicles. "Nice trick!" Duck said.

"Two powers are better than one." Ace hurried towards Hill's side of the battle. "This doesn't have to end like this!"

"I agree! Bring us the feline and we'll stop our fire." Hill argued.

Ace sighed and lowered his head, then he glanced back at him. "Then you leave me no choice!" He started to shoot the laser from his eyes towards the front of the vehicles, making them to explode one by one, the wolves hopped away from them quickly.

Hill growled as he got into his feet. "You are out of your mind!"

"He is not going with you! We only want to find out what's up with him." Ace said as he approached Hill.

"So do we." Hill punched him on the face, then Ace kicked his belly before grabbing his arm and starting to break it, making Hill to groan.

"You may have super strength, but you don't know how to fight." Ace hit his face with his knee several times, then he left him unconscious and dropped him on the ground.

The soldiers reacted and recovered from the previous attack, they started to shoot at the Loonatics, Slam had stood in front of his team and protected them from the sudden shots so they could stand back, as he walked, the shots had no effect on him at all, he started to walk faster and then he jumped in front of the soldiers and smashed the ground with both of his fists, breaking the concrete and throwing the wolves a few meters away from him.

A group of wolves had split, three wolves were fighting with Tech and Lexi, while the others had gone to where Adam was being covered. Tech levitated a trash can with his powers, then he threw it at them strongly, with such force that the trash can broke into several pieces as it hit them, they growled by the smash that sent them to lay against the wall of a building. Before they could even try to stand up, Lexi threw a long kick at their muzzles, neutralizing the three of them. "I guess that will do." Lexi said.

"I hope so, come on, we must take the guy with us." Tech sprinted followed by Lexi.

"Is this, like, treason?" Anne said as she watched the pair of soldiers approaching them with their weapons aiming at them.

"Well, I don't think the boss would be happy with us getting him away from his objectives, so, yeah I'm pretty sure is treason." Matt replied.

"Give us the…" One of the wolves suddenly disappeared from their sight after a red blur showed up briefly, then all of a sudden the wolf was hanging from his vest from a lamppost. "What the heck! Whoever did this, get me down of here!" The wolf yelled angrily.

Rev was dashing the fastest he could while seeing everything in slow motion, the remaining wolf had fired his gun against Adam, he hoped to be able to stop the laser on its way, but he didn't get there on time, and the laser hit Adam near the stomach, he heard his scream as he hit the soldier with his head, making the wolf to fall down, slowly, time began to flow normally as Rev stopped running in front of Anne and Matt who were kneeling down next to Adam. "Oh no." Rev said as the rest of the team arrived with them.

"What happened?" Ace asked.

Rev shook his head. "I was too slow."

"How bad is it?" Duck said.

"I…" Anne was trying to check the wound. "I don't know, I'm no doctor."

"Let me see." Tech kneeled down and put his hand over the wound, then he pressed a little bit and Adam gasped with pain. "Okay, it is bad but, I think he can make it if we attend him fast."

Suddenly, a shine of light came out from the wound. "Uhm, Tech, what is going on?" Lexi asked with alarm.

"Like if I knew!" Tech backed away a little bit instinctively, then everyone did the same and their surroundings turned completely white by the intensity of the growing light.

Ace opened his eyes after gasping fearfully, his breathing was fast and his gaze widened after realizing he was laying in front of the sea under a florid sunset, resting over a great amount of sand. "What the…" He rubbed his forehead and stood up carefully. "A beach? In Acmetropolis? What?"

"Ace you are awake!" Lexi hugged him and left him even more unsettled.

"Uhm, yeah." Ace broke the hug. "What is going on?"

Duck hiked towards them. "I was going to ask you the exact same question."

Slam grunted with anger as he and the rest of the team met them.

"Tech, where is Adam? And the other two guys?" Ace asked.

Tech pointed with his thumb over his shoulder behind him. "Matt and Anne are taking care of him over there."

"I didn't know Acmetropolis had beaches." Rev said.

Ace sighed. "It doesn't! Man what's up with this guy, we try to help him and he send us to this, strange place."

"I think he didn't do it on purpose, maybe it was some sort of defense mechanism." Tech stated. "The weather, that smaller sun over there, I think we are on other planet."

"And this is the day when our weird lives become weirder." Duck shook his head.

"What is this place?" Adam asked Anne who was helping him to stand up along with Matt.

"You tell us, I got a feeling that it was you who brought us here." Matt got his shoulder under Adam's arm to help him stand while walking towards the Loonatics.

Adam sighed. "I still have so much to discover."

"You did this? How do we get back?" Ace asked after he approached them.

"I didn't even know I could do that." Adam groaned. "I'm sorry."

"I told you." Tech added. "Defense mechanism."

Lexi gasped. "So we are stranded here!"

Ace turned to his other side and glanced at the vast jungle that was behind them. "For now."

"How will we help him?" Anne said as she looked briefly at Adam, then she returned her gaze to the rest. "He is still hurt."

Tech sighed. "And he could be our only way out of here."

"We'll find something to help him, but first, we must divide in groups, Tech and I will try to find a source of water, Duck and Slam, you two will look for food, Lexi and Rev, I need you to search for a safe place to take shelter, on the meantime, Anne and Matt will take care of Adam here on the beach." Ace commanded. "We´ll meet right here in two hours, am I clear?"

"Whatever." Duck grunted. "Come on Slam, maybe there are trees that grow ham on this planet."

Slam growled doubtfully.

"Of course I'm kidding!" Duck said as they went inside the jungle.

"Wait, we have no medicine!" Anne said.

Tech pointed at the jungle. "Then improvise, there could be something in there that could help him, just don't take anything that looks poisonous and it should be fine."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "So, that's everything we can do? Look for random stuff that could cure him?"

Tech stared at him. "Exactly." He walked away with Ace.

Minutes later, each group had gone to do their assigned tasks, Matt and Anne were with Adam, sitting over the sand. "Okay, you stay here with him, I'm going to bring some plants or whatever." Matt stood up and left them.

Anne looked at Adam. "Don't worry, he will find something useful."

"This hurts, a lot." Adam said. "What do you say when things are very bad and everything seems lost?"

"Uhm." Anne began to think. "I would say something like, this sucks."

Adam nodded. "Okay." He sighed. "This...sucks?" He said so in a very unnatural way.

Anne smirked. "You are full of surprises, maybe I should help him…"

Adam took her hand. "No, stay." He looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please, I'm scared."

"Alright." Anne nodded. "Everything will be fine."


	13. Episode 13: Reconnaissance

Loonatics: United

Episode 13: Reconnaissance

Matt was struggling to walk across the dense vegetation of the unknown jungle. "Easy task…" He complained. "Just find a random, extraterrestrial thing to save that guy from dying." A plant hit his face like a slingshot as he tried to pass through it, he yelled and rubbed his muzzle. "I'm pretty sure I already hate this place." He kept moving and after a few minutes he found himself in front of a weird looking tree, its trunk was thick and reddish, while it had dark purple leaves which went all its way down from the top to the bottom. "Okay Matt." He said to himself as he picked a leaf from the tree. "Just remember the botany course you failed to pass." He ripped the leaf in half. "No odd fluids, I guess that's fine." He took more leaves and kept them on the bags of his pants, then he walked back through the route he had taken to reunite with his assigned crew.

On the meantime, Anne and Adam were chatting while waiting for Matt, they were both still sitting over the beach's sand. "I never thought I would see an actual view of the ocean." Anne said as she looked at the blue sea.

"What is so fascinating for you about it? I don't understand." Adam tilted his head with intrigue as he tried to glance at the scene the same way Anne did.

"I…" Anne raised an eyebrow after thinking about the question. "It's just, the immensity of it, you know, normally people see themselves as the biggest thing that ever existed, but when you experience this, you realize you aren't that huge after all, it gives you a sense of, acceptance and, humility."

"And that doesn't bother you? To feel, limited?" Adam asked.

"I used to be worried about that kind of thoughts, but, now I know that limits can often lead to better things, they make us stronger, and remind us we are just, people." Anne sighed and looked at Adam. "Maybe I'm boring you, I'm sorry."

"No." Adam said. "I really like to talk with you, you are like, someone who I appreciate, uhm, what's the word…"

"A friend?" Anne replied.

"Yeah!" Adam responded. "I am sorry about my attitude back on the city, I was just very unsettled and, confused."

Anne tightened her grip on his hand. "I know." She smiled. "You will get through this."

"I was just a program on an old hard drive, now I feel like something else, but I don't deserve it." Adam lowered his head.

Anne glanced at him worriedly. "Don't treat yourself like that." She leaned closer to him. "You didn't choose to be here, none of us did."

"But someone died, so I could exist." Adam cried.

"What happened, it's not your fault, or tell me, is it?" Anne asked him reassuringly.

"Well…" Adam sobbed. "Technically, not."

"See? The only thing that matters right now is how are you going to move on, and be calm, we will help you." Anne said.

Adam nodded, his gaze still at the ground. "Okay."

Matt had came from between a group of palm trees and plants before he approached them from behind. "I think I've found something." He said with a subtle unsettlement on his face as he saw Adam and Anne so close to each other.

"Oh, well let's try it out." Anne said while she moved away a little bit from Adam to let Matt try to cure him.

Meanwhile, more inside of the paths of the jungle, Duck and Slam were glancing at every tree they saw in search for fruit. "Yup, we will die of starvation here." Duck said.

Slam snarled optimistically as he shook a palm tree with no relevant effect.

"Get over it! We are doomed!" Duck exclaimed. "Why would Ace think two dummies like us could have had any chance to succeed."

Slam turned around and stared at him rather offended.

"Come on Slam! We both know I am not exactly the brain of this team, so where does that leave you?" Duck crossed his arms.

Slam growled violently and punched Duck right on his beak which threw him strongly onto a palm tree.

Duck groaned and got back into his senses as he moved from the damaged area and looked at Slam angrily. "You want to play, huh?" He disappeared suddenly and teleported over Slam's head, then he began to throw energy orbs into his face. "You like that!"

Slam screamed and took Duck with his hand and smashed him to the ground, then he growled at him menacingly with his fist ready to punch him like a warning.

Duck coughed some dirt and lifted his hand in front of his face. "Okay bud." He stood up with struggle. "No more." He continued coughing. "It's a tie."

Slam grunted and grabbed Duck again, looking directly into his eyes.

"Okay! Okay! You won, you won, I am sorry alright! Maybe I was just trying to…" He gasped as Slam squeezed him more strongly. "I was just mad and upset, it was not fair from my part, I apologize."

Slam growled with a cautious forgiveness, then he just dropped him.

Duck got into his feet once again. "Alright bud." He was still struggling to recover his breath. "Just forget this, keep looking."

Tech shook his head as he kneeled down in front of a little river of green colored water. "I wouldn't drink from here even if my life depended on it, oh wait, it does."

Ace sighed and sat down over a rock. "Just give it some time, Tech."

Tech stood up and walked by him. "And when we run out of time? What will we do?"

"I don't know, maybe we should take a rest, my feet are killing me." Ace replied.

Tech nodded and laid down on the wet soil, with both hands under his head. "Mine too, boss, this jungle is far more dense than I thought." He waited for a response, which didn't come, he then gazed at Ace who was just looking at the front. "Boss?"

Ace blinked and shook his head gently. "I am sorry, I was just, thoughtful."

"What's up?" Tech inquired.

"It's strange, but, these last minutes I've been getting this kind of, attachment feeling." Ace responded.

"I'm lost already." Tech raised an eyebrow.

"Everything here is so, alive, I never imagined to see something like it." Ace placed his hand over a long leaf of a plant that was next to him.

"I guess it's normal, this place is literally the opposite of our home." Tech stated. "Maybe we needed some, vacations, you know." Tech said jokingly.

"Yeah, things always tend to get out of control over there." Ace chuckled. "Maybe I'm not accustomed to live out of trouble."

Meanwhile, Lexi and Rev were walking carefully over the edge of a rocky structure. "I told you this didn't lead to a cave." Lexi said.

"Well, I'm sorry for not knowing this place like the palm of my hand, Ms. Perfect!" Rev argued.

"Calm down, what's up with that annoying attitude you have since we got here?" Lexi asked.

Rev grunted. "It's nothing."

"Rev." Lexi said with a serious tone, still watching her steps. "You are talking much less than usual, not that I complain, but I know something is not okay."

"Look, you are too smart to ignore it, everything is my fault, I couldn't protect that weird guy from the shot and that's exactly why we are here, I'm slow, Lexi." Rev replied.

Lexi sighed. "Rev, you know that's not true."

Rev avoided a rock that blocked the way partially. "Then why are we here?"

Lexi did the same, as she had been walking behind him. "It's like in sports, sometimes you fail, sometimes you score."

"I didn't lose a soccer match, I brought all of you to your demise." Rev argued.

"Come on Rev, you are overreacting." Lexi replied.

Rev shook his head as he managed to put both of his feet on the other, safer side. "Maybe, but, I can't help but to feel guilty about what happened."

Lexi approached him with relief as she noticed they had gone all the way through the defying path. "Well, just don't, forget about it, no one else is blaming you, okay?" She put a hand on his shoulder.

Rev sighed. "Yeah."

"Okay then." Lexi walked past him and gasped as she covered her mouth with amazement, her eyes widened afterwards.

"What!" Rev ran quickly next to her. "It's…"

"Perfect." Lexi said as they both admired the scene of the little paradise they had found. A huge pool surrounded by caverns covered with moss and huge trees full of appealing fruits. Lexi got inside the place followed by Rev, they walked over the grassed surface that covered their feet, their sight was all over the place as there was so much to see.

"Ace will be very relieved with this." Rev said.

Lexi nodded. "I agree." She looked at him. "We must tell them."


	14. Episode 14: New Challenges

Loonatics: United

Episode 14: New Challenges

On the adequate place Lexi and Rev had found inside of the jungle, everyone was trying to get comfortable and they were choosing their spots to stay safe. Ace had put a group of leaves and plants on the ground inside one of the caves, simulating a bed, something the rest had noticed and did the same in their respective places. Lexi had chosen a cave next to Ace's, Slam just laid on the ground between the group of caves and began to take a nap, a flat surface was enough for him to be comfortable. Tech built a hammock with roots and a huge leaf, which he hung up next to Slam's spot, Rev had also chosen a cave, same as Duck, they had just imitated Ace's way to set up his wild, temporary room. Matt and Anne took Adam to a bigger cave, so the three of them could stay there and watch over him, there was a rectangle shaped rock that conveniently served as a bed. They helped Adam to lay there after they had put some leaves over it to make it more suitable.

After Ace had finished setting up his cave completely, he exited from it and went to talk with Tech, who was adjusting a knot from his hammock. "We must admit it, Lexi and Rev have saved our skulls."

"I agree, we just need to wait for the new guy to heal." Tech replied. "So, what now, boss?"

Ace looked at his surroundings with doubt. "I guess we can take a rest, I mean, we got pretty much everything covered."

Slam growled with satisfaction as he rested on his spot.

"That's an order I won't object." Tech laid over his hammock. "Not that I tend to do so, anyway." He sighed. "But we've been through enough madness to deserve some distractions."

Rev appeared in front of them and had lifted some leaves from the ground with the red blur that had followed his rush. "So we are taking vacations like if nothing had happened and stay with our arms behind our necks! Doing nothing?"

"Easy there, Rev, if that's what we need to do then we'll do it, do you have a better idea?" Ace asked.

Rev grunted. "I will come up with one."

"Well you better hurry, the humidity here isn't exactly lovely." Lexi had exited from her cave and met with them.

Rev snarled. "You can bet I'll do it, have some drinks and chill while I actually do something productive to get out of this place." He rushed to his cave.

"What's wrong with him?" Tech asked.

Lexi shook her head. "He'll be fine, he just had a bad day."

"Like all of us." Tech got his feet out of the hammock. "I'll talk to him." He headed towards Rev's place.

"How is our guest?" Ace asked Lexi. "Can you go and see if he is okay?"

"Sure." Lexi nodded and walked away to go to Adam's cave.

"How are you feeling?" Anne smirked at Adam, who still laid on the rocky bed.

"You know what? I think those plants did their job." Adam answered.

"Let me see." Anne unzipped the upper part of Adam's suit, revealing his torso, she glanced at the wound he had over his belly, which looked better than before, but he gasped when Anne touched the wound just a little bit.

"But it still hurts like the first time!" Adam complained.

"Sorry." Anne scratched her nape. "You need to rest." She zipped back his suit and let Adam in peace for a moment.

Matt had seen all of that, with his arms crossed and an uneasy look. "I guess he will recover." He said when Anne approached him.

"Maybe, but, I have to take care of him." Anne replied.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "You mean, us."

"Oh." Anne blushed. "Yeah, both of us, that's our task, sure."

"Yeah." Matt said with a tone of suspicion. "Uhm, maybe we can get our minds out of this with some fighting lessons."

"Sure, it's getting dark already but, yeah, I'm in." Anne accepted.

"Great." Matt smiled at her before Lexi entered the cave.

"Hey, how is he doing?" Lexi asked as she watched Adam sleep.

"He is fine, Tech's advice actually worked." Anne responded.

"Don't you forget about me, I found the plants that are curing him." Matt argued.

"Really? Good job." Lexi said.

"I have my moments." Matt swanked, then Anne rolled her eyes and Lexi just chuckled.

Tech was sitting next to Rev over a rock inside of his cave. "Come on man, what's going on with you?"

Rev turned his gaze away from him. "Nothing, just leave me alone."

"What was that about? Your discussion with Ace." Tech asked.

"Discussion, what discussion? I just see everybody talking about waiting and waiting and waiting and doing nothing, am I the only one concerned by this?" Rev argued.

Tech sighed. "Of course not! Don't you think I want to go home? Don't you think Ace feels upset by this?" Rev stood silent, giving no answer. "Now you ignore me, fine." Tech got his gaze away from him briefly, before he looked back at him. "I understand now, you know this is your fault and you want to blame everyone else, isn't it, Rev?"

"Shut up." Rev murmured and clenched his fist.

"Isn't it!" Tech insisted.

"Go away! Now!" Rev yelled menacingly. "Go away, Tech." He had lowered down his tone, but still kept his rage.

Tech stood up and shook his head with disappointment as he left.

Slam was snoring while taking a nap, Duck could hear him from his cave, he tried to block the sound by putting his fingers over his ears as he was also trying to take some rest. After a pair of minutes he couldn't get over with it and walked towards Slam enraged. "Hey you dumb beast!"

Slam snarled as Duck had woken him up and stood up before him.

"Listen! I am very stressed right now and I hate that! And you are making it worse so could you, please, stop your scandal for a second!" Duck exclaimed.

Slam growled at him with annoyance and pointed at the outside.

"Oh! That's your smart solution! You want me to sleep outside!" Duck applauded sarcastically. "Another great idea from the brainless beast!"

Slam grabbed Duck's neck instinctively and lifted him off the ground and growled at him with fury.

Duck coughed as he tried to undo Slam's huge, clenched hand. "Do you think I am afraid of you? Pet?"

Ace exited his room to see what was going on. "Slam! What the heck is wrong with you! Drop him already!"

"You heard the boss, Slam." Duck said mockingly. "Drop the duck."

Slam growled again and finally obeyed Ace, dropping Duck carelessly on the ground, then he walked away from them and headed towards a lower part of the cave place, leaving Duck coughing before Ace.

Duck got into his feet slowly and looked at Ace. "Thanks man, that dude has serious problems."

"Don't you pretend I didn't hear you, Duck, you both crossed the line!" Ace scolded him.

"Oh! Now it's me who has issues! Great! Let me go to my beautiful five stars suite and get my thoughts together!" Duck grunted and started to walk towards his cave. "Unbelievable."

Ace stood where he was, upset and concerned, then Lexi walked towards him from Matt and Anne's room. "Let me guess, Duck."

Ace nodded and lowered his head. "A few hours here and we've already gone all crazy."

"It's just a process, tomorrow things will be different." Lexi put her arm around his shoulders. "Just, enjoy what we have now."

Ace smirked. "And what's that?"

Lexi put her hand on Ace's chin and made him to forcefully look at the front. "This view, the jungle, we are having the chance to live it, well, thanks by a couple of unfortunate situations, but still."

Ace nodded as he let his focus to get lost in the landscape. "True, this is actually, beautiful." He looked at her. "Thank you, Lexi, you always make my life better."

Lexi smiled. "That's my job." She leaned forward and started to kiss him.


	15. Episode 15: Stolid

Loonatics: United

Episode 15: Stolid

On the night, Matt followed Anne as she walked down from the caves through a little path that led to the lower part of the place, which was in front of the pool. "So, shall we start from where we left off the last time?" Anne got in combat position.

"Maybe from the beginning, just to remember." Matt answered as he also got ready.

"As you wish." Anne smirked and threw a kick at his face without more warning, Matt blocked the kick with his arm, then Anne crouched and grabbed his leg, making him to fall, then he made another move with both legs to free himself from Anne's grip. Matt stood up, same as her, he approached her and tried to tackle her, but she put some resistance with her fists. "You have got better at this, you don't suck horribly anymore." Anne joked.

"Thanks, I guess." Matt replied as he struggled to try to bring her down. "To be honest, I really missed this."

Anne pushed him and made him gasp. "Same, I had to see you bite my dust again."

"We are just starting." Matt moved fast to get behind her and cuffed her arms.

"Come on!" Anne got him to lay over his back after she had leaned forward to throw him.

Matt groaned. "I forgot that one."

Anne was standing behind his head, she got in his sight as she looked at him with a cocky grin. "Yeah, you still suck, where is that super strength of yours?" She offered him her hand, then he sighed and took it to get into his feet.

"You must admit that I almost got you." Matt argued.

Anne chuckled. "In your dreams, rookie." She sighed. "Come on, I'll teach you that one."

"Sure, uhm what do I do?" Matt asked.

Anne got behind him and took his arms, then she cuffed them the same way as Matt had done before. "Okay, here, I took some impulse and that was enough to throw you."

"Yeah, you don't need to remind me." Matt said, then he tried to do the movement, but he barely lifted Anne from the ground.

Anne couldn't help but to laugh. "Oh Matt, is that all?"

"Don't make fun of me!" Matt tried again, but failed the same way.

Anne sighed. "Take your time, and move back a little bit more, then try again." As Matt tried to follow her directions, Anne continued talking. "Do you think Adam is well?"

"He is fine, Anne." Matt groaned.

Anne gazed at the caves. "Maybe I should go and check."

Matt growled as he struggled to lift her. "Why are you so worried about him?"

Anne raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, because we must take care of him, as Ace ordered us to do so?"

Matt snarled and leaned to the front enraged, throwing Anne hard onto the ground. "Go then!"

"Ouch!" Anne exclaimed as she landed heavily over her back. "Nice job."

Matt gasped. "Sorry, I'm so sorry Anne!" He extended his hand and she got up with his help.

"Don't worry." Anne said as she rubbed her back. "Now I regret mentioning your power."

"Sorry, I, I didn't measure my strength." Matt replied.

"You have never had trouble with that." Anne said with intrigue.

Matt turned his gaze away from her. "Maybe I was just, distracted."

"Is something wrong?" Anne asked.

"No, no I am fine, Adam needs your help, I'll catch up with you in a second." Matt walked towards the pool to stand by it. Anne nodded, still worried for him and then headed to the cave.

In the meantime, Tech was about to enter the room where Adam was sleeping. "Uhm, hello?" He knocked the cave, the echo woke Adam up.

Adam glanced at him from his improvised bed. "What?" He said with somnolence.

"May I come in?" Tech asked, Adam just nodded. Tech entered the cave and stood in front of Adam. "So, are you better?"

"Yes, I am certainly feeling quite good now." Adam replied.

Tech nodded. "Right." He hesitated to keep talking. "Uhm, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Adam said.

"Well, when you were hurt and that light surrounded you, what did you see? I mean, apart of that." Tech asked.

Adam covered his chin, thoughtful. "I saw, uhm, lots of spherical shapes, similar to those in the learning expansions my father had installed on me back when I was a piece of software."

"Spherical?" Tech crossed his arms. "Like, planets?"

"Yes, that's the word, planets." Adam responded.

"Tell me more, it was like static, or there was movement in what you saw?" Tech inquired.

"Well, more than seeing something, I felt like I was actually traveling, I just remember very blurry images of that, like if it was some kind of dream." Adam answered.

"Uhm…" Tech scratched his chin. "Anything more?"

Adam shook his head. "I just remember that, I am sorry, I don't know how we ended here."

Tech nodded. "No problem, just one more thing."

"Yeah?" Adam said.

"How were you feeling before the moment you started to see those things?" Tech asked.

"Well I, I was fearful, I was very afraid, I didn't want to die." Adam responded. "Why are you asking me this?"

"So we can get out of this the sooner as possible, it may be more complicated than I thought, I just wanted to confirm that your actions were involuntary, that info shall be of help." Tech said. "But don't worry, get some rest and if there's no inconvenient, try to remember more about what you felt and saw there." Tech added and exited the cave.

On the caves' center, Ace and Lexi had gathered with Duck and Slam to talk with them about their previous fight, they were all sitting in circle with their legs crossed. "Guys, you well know this team was built with trust, without it, we are absolutely nothing." Ace said.

Lexi continued. "So we are begging you to resolve this, for the good of you and the rest of the team."

"Great! A lecture! Just what I needed!" Duck exclaimed. "Can I leave now?!"

"Could you cooperate a little? Duck? You can't leave until you and Slam solve this." Ace warned.

Slam growled with disinterest.

"Yes Slam, this will take all night long if necessary." Lexi crossed her arms.

"So, I just have to say sorry?" Duck asked.

Ace shook his head. "You know it's more than that."

Duck sighed, then he looked at Slam. "I'm sorry, okay! This place is killing me, is hot, I miss my home, and I feel useless while being here!"

Slam gazed at him and growled with agreement.

"Yeah! That´s what I am talking about! I'm bored, I want my TV and my junk food!" Duck explained. "Do we have all of that stuff here?! No! I am just stuck here with all of you."

Slam lowered his head and snarled apologetically.

"Well, yeah you nearly killed me two times, maybe I deserved it but, I mean, yeah no problem." Duck replied with forgiveness. "You are not a fool, Slam, you are a good, big guy, I was just trying to take out my rage onto someone."

Slam smirked and gently punched Duck in the shoulder in a friendly manner.

Lexi smiled. "See? Was it that hard?"

"Don't get too optimistic, I still kind of hate all of you right now." Duck stood up and went to his cave.

"Well, it's something, I guess." Ace said.

Meanwhile, Rev was running all over the island, thinking about what had happened. "Tech, what a jerk, he always thinks he has enough reasons to be worried about everyone else, doesn´t he know how to attend his own business? And well, who cares, I have the right to be mad, Ace and Lexi are supposed to be our example and what are they showing? Resignation, oh don't worry Rev, just wait and relax, what a stupid advice, is that even an advice at all? This sucks, Acmetropolis is unprotected, no one takes me seriously, and this island is so tiny! I've seen that rock thirty six times already." Rev stopped right in front of the entrance to the refuge, without any sign of exhaustion. "Okay Rev, just play their game, ignore them and they'll see who is being immature and irrational."


	16. Episode 16: Vital Frolic

Loonatics: United

Episode 16: Vital Frolic

Ace laid over his improvised bed, the sun was still barely doting the cloudy and gray sky with light, it was bright enough to wake him up, along with the help of the soft cold of the morning. He got into his feet slowly; he stretched and yawned before exiting his cave and approaching Slam to wake him up. "Slam." He mumbled and kicked his big friend's shoulder gently. "I need your help."

Slam groaned and looked at Ace with subtle anger, he had expelled him from a deep sleep, then he sighed and stood up. He growled with question.

"Today we'll get resources, can you wake everyone up?" Ace asked.

Slam raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms while lowering his head.

Ace nodded. "Yes Slam, all of us, or tell me you aren't hungry."

Slam's stomach betrayed him as it roared heavily. Slam snarled and nodded, then he raised his fists and punched the rocky ground with strength, making the cave place to shake as some small rocks and dirt fell with the movement. Almost instantly, Slam and Ace heard the screams of everybody as they got out of their respective places in a hurry, while Tech had just fallen from his hammock after he gasped.

"Quakes, just what we needed." Duck gazed at his surroundings attentively.

Tech stood up as he rubbed his head and noticed that the cave place had stopped shaking. "And very brief ones, it seems."

"Relax, it was just Slam."Ace explained.

Duck frowned as he took a few steps towards Slam. "You again! I thought we were in good terms!"

Ace stopped Duck in his way by putting his hand over his head. "I asked him to do so; I need all of you to work today, we have to get food."

Duck removed Ace's hand off of his head. "Fine! I'm starving, but don't you dare do that again, both of you!" He pointed at them warningly.

"And him?" Anne asked, she and Matt were at Adam's sides while he was already able to stand on his own.

"I don't know, depends on him, how are you feeling bud?" Ace inquired.

Adam stepped a few times right where he was standing. "Uhm." He nodded and looked at Ace. "I think I'll be fine, and I want to help."

"Good, but still, you two will go with him, just in case." Ace commanded.

"No problem." Anne said, Matt just growled in silence and nodded option-less.

"Alright." Ace glanced at Lexi. "You'll go with me, Lexi, the rest of you are doing another group." He then noticed Rev's indifference as he was just leaning over a wall. "Am I clear? Rev?" He ignored Ace's question. "Rev?!"

Rev growled. "Yeah, yeah, boss, food, get in groups, oh wait!" He disappeared from their sight after a red blur and then returned with them by the side of a great pile of fruit. "It seems I've already done my part." He gestured arrogantly and went back to his cave.

"Rev…" Ace got interrupted by Lexi, who just walked towards him.

"Leave him alone, Ace." Lexi said. "We have work to do."

Ace sighed. "Okay, then." He looked at everyone else. "Get going, guys, gather everything you can carry."

Matt, Anne and Adam were inside of a place covered with foliage, full of small, semi-transparent fruits, with some blue on their center, Adam was the first one who noticed them and took a pair to keep them inside his clenched hand. "Look guys, do you think these are edible?"

Matt took one and studied it briefly, then he smelled it and put it in his mouth, his eyes widened as he munched it. "Oh my…" He said with his mouth still full.

"Spit it out then!" Anne said worriedly.

"No…" Matt swallowed the fruit. "It's amazing! Give it a try!"

Adam ate one as he handed Anne the other fruit he had left. Anne ate it doubtfully, but then she reacted the same way as Matt did. "Oh my…my taste buds won't be the same ever again."

"We should take a plenty of these things." Adam added.

Matt was showing his undershirt; he had taken off his jacket and folded it in a way that it served as a bag, which had allowed him to keep a lot of that fruit. "Presto!" He carried the jacket turned a bag over his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Slam, Duck and Tech were gathering more fruit from a tree with the help of a long stick Tech had found. "Come to me, don't be afraid." Tech said as he hit the green fruit of the top of the tree with the tip of the stick, then he managed to hit three of them and made them fall, Slam reacted fast and caught them all.

"What are you? Some sort of weird, fruit whisperer?" Duck asked jokingly.

"What? Everybody talks to inanimate objects like if they are people once in a while to focus." Tech argued.

Slam shook his head and growled with doubt.

"Yeah Tech, no one does that." Duck said.

"Tell that to my article about confidence and object humanization in stressful situations in Acmetropolis' Science and Research Magazine!" Tech replied.

Duck rolled his eyes. "Whatever, mad genius." He crouched and tried to lift two of those green fruits from the ground. "Come on…" He struggled to stand up while carrying the weight of the fruits.

"Uhm, why don't you simply teleport yourself and the fruits to the cave?" Tech crossed his arms.

"Oh." Duck nodded, then he disappeared from their sight.

Tech chuckled and shook his head, then he grabbed more fruits from the ground. "Come on Slam, let's take this to the cave."

"Maybe we shouldn't take that one." Ace pointed at the big, red and spherical fruit that Lexi was looking at as she was crouching before it.

Lexi ripped a piece from the fruit. "Why?"

"It looks, dangerous." Ace replied.

"Well, Tech is a doctor." Lexi stood up with the piece of fruit on her hand.

"Yeah but…" Ace sighed. "Fine, but, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Okay." Lexi opened her mouth and just before she could put the red piece of fruit inside, Ace took it away from her. "Ace!" She looked at him with confusion.

"Let me do it; I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Ace said.

"My hero." Lexi said sarcastically.

"Okay, it's just a weird, odd looking fruit from another planet." Ace had his gaze locked on the piece of fruit he was holding in front of his face, hesitant to even open his mouth a little bit.

"Come on Ace, you are braver than that!" Lexi complained.

"Okay! Okay! I was just…okay." Ace finally ate the red fruit, his eyes widened almost instantly. "Oh…"

"Is it good? Let me…" Lexi couldn't finish the sentence as she saw Ace spitting out the fruit aggressively and trying to clean his tongue with his hands.

"Nope." Ace coughed. "Discarded."

Lexi couldn't resist and started to laugh right in front of him, pointing at him as she laughed strongly. "Your face!" She dropped herself to the ground as her own laugh was too much for her. "Was it?" Her laugh started to fade into intermittent chuckles. "Spicy, bitter?" She cleaned a tear from her face and got into her feet with a smile. "I'm glad you had it instead of me."

Ace coughed one last time. "Yeah, enjoy watching the poor guy with a sour mouth!"

Lexi chuckled again. "You must admit that it was very funny."

Ace shook his head. "Forget about it already, at least we now know this isn't an option." He started to walk away and then was suddenly hit with the fruit on the back of his head. "Ouch!" He turned his gaze towards Lexi. "What was that?"

Lexi took the spherical fruit and started to bounce it over the grass. "Maybe it's not for eating, but for playing!" She threw it again towards him and hit his face.

Ace groaned. "Do you want to play? Well…" He took the fruit from the ground and returned her the hit. While they kept playing with the fruit turned ball and moving across the place, they didn't notice they were already playing inside of the pool at the center of the haven. They laughed and threw the ball with no care in the world, not noticing that the rest of the team was looking at them a few meters away.

"Uhm, they are throwing a fruit, on the pool, not working." Duck said.

Tech raised an eyebrow and smirked. "It looks kind of fun, though." He approached the pool and dived in the water, then he swam to the space between them and jumped towards the ball over him and intercepted it.

"This cannot be! Come on we are stranded! We are adults, and we have no time for silly games oh who I'm fooling that looks fun as heck!" Duck exclaimed and teleported to the pool to join them.

Slam had gone to a little cliff over the pool; he took impulse and ran fast towards the edge as he growled with euphoria, then he jumped and dived in the pool like a cannonball, making a huge amount of water to splash over everyone.

"My suit!" Anne said as she shook her arms to get some water off them.

"Come on!" Matt dropped the bag with fruit and took her hand to take her to the pool, but she refused to move.

"Matt! No!" Anne warned and gazed at Adam, who was just looking curious at the drops of water falling from his hands."We have to watch over him!"

Adam gazed at them both then he looked directly at her. "Go, have fun." He smiled. "I'll be right here." He sat down over the grass with his legs crossed.

Anne glanced at the pool. "Are you sure?" She looked at Adam again.

"Don't worry, I am fine." Adam replied.

"O…kay then." Anne began to walk towards the pool, as Matt followed her, he turned his gaze back to Adam, who nodded at him with a smirk, Matt smiled and returned the nod, then he continued his way to the pool.

While everyone played and laughed together, Adam looked at them with peace, and joy, not the same as Rev, who was on the cave place, glancing their game from the distance with his arms crossed, a part of him wanted to join the party, but his pride didn't let him go.


	17. Episode 17: Fear And Discovery

Loonatics: United

Episode 17: Fear And Discovery

The whole team was sitting in a circle on the center of the cave place, sharing the food they had found a few hours earlier. "This is probably the best fruit I've ever tasted, Matt." Tech had one of the odd looking fruits that Matt had brought with him.

"You can thank the rest of my team for that." Matt took some berries from the pile of fruit in front of him. "I just took the risk."

Lexi chuckled. "Yeah, that didn't go well for my partner, isn't it, Ace?"

"It wasn't that bad, actually." Ace said. "You know I am a fan of exotic food."

Lexi glanced at him. "Are you kidding me? Because your face said quite the contrary, now I would call that exotic."

Rev laughed with less subtle than the rest of them with her comment. "So, are you cool again?" Duck asked.

"What, no, no it wasn't funny at all." Rev tried to decrease his laughter. "Hand me that, please." He pointed at the green fruit Tech, Slam and Duck had found.

Duck rolled his eyes and gave him what he asked for. "Come on man, why are you so angry? Enjoy this."

"I'm not angry! I just want to leave this horrible place." Rev exclaimed.

"I agree with you, buddy." Anne said.

"Finally, someone who understands!" Rev pointed at her as he looked at the rest of them.

"Sure, I mean, palm trees, the sea, tropical weather, good food, this place is hell." Anne added, making everyone to laugh again.

Rev snarled. "Fine, fine, make fun of me all you want, pretty."

"I'm kidding, Rev, to be honest I kind of miss home too." Anne replied.

Ace shook his head. "I feel bad by saying this, but, I haven't thought that much about Acmetropolis this last days.

"It's normal, boss." Tech pealed a violet fruit he had taken. "When we get accustomed to a situation that once seemed like unwanted or dangerous, we start to forget about our previous state."

"Yeah, maybe you are right." Ace said.

Hours later, everyone had finished eating, Adam was sitting over the edge of the cave place's cliff then Tech sat down next to him. "Hi." Tech said.

"Hi." Adam replied.

"How are your powers?" Tech asked.

Adam lifted his hand and made a black sphere to hover over it. "They're coming back."

Tech nodded. "So, you know how to control them."

"Just partially, I still can't access my ability to travel through planets or whatever it is." Adam answered.

Tech chuckled. "Maybe not yet."

"Maybe, but how long am I supposed to wait to discover it?" Adam inquired.

"You see, our story is not so different from yours. One day, our lives changed with no warning at all, we were scared, confused and unsettled, these new feelings of power and no control were so new and unknown for us, personally, I was very scared when I began to know my abilities." Tech said.

"Which are?" Adam asked.

"Basically, I can control metallic objects just with my will." Tech replied.

Adam nodded. "That doesn't sound as frightening as my case."

"New things tend to scare us, but I've learned that fear can be a very effective ally." Tech looked at him. "If you know how to approach it."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Fear is the key to survival, is the thing that tells us when to escape from dangerous situations and how to avoid catastrophes, but when you decide to own your fear, it can lead you to extraordinary things, things that you thought you would never be able to accomplish." Tech responded.

"How? How can I do that?" Adam asked.

"Visualize your fears, confront them and then you'll know how to use your powers." Tech answered.

Adam tried to follow Tech's instructions, after a moment, he sighed and shook his head with disappointment. "Nothing, I got nothing, no fear."

"Everyone has fears, insecurities, doubts." Tech said. "You just have to find them."

"Why are you so interested in my powers?" Adam asked before backing away a little bit by Tech's sudden response.

"Because I want to go home!" Tech exclaimed. "And you are our only chance to return."

"Do you think I am happy with this?! I didn't want to ruin everyone else's lives, if you ask me, it's just difficult to live knowing nothing about what's going to happen!" Adam replied, then a dim light appeared on his forehead.

"Adam." Tech pointed at his head.

"It's not fair! It is not fair to be like this, uncertain, vulnerable to the eventualities of time, I hate that!" The light in Adam's forehead got bright enough for him to notice it. "Now what?"

Tech smirked. "There it is."

Adam focused on the light he was looking at. "I, is it, your home?"

Tech's eyes widened as he stood up. "What do you see?"

Adam got into his feet as he moved his hands like if he was trying to feel something. "The buildings, it is like, if I were right there."

"Don't leave that feeling Adam." Tech said.

"I feel, strangely well." Adam replied.

Tech walked next to him. "Go back Adam, what are you afraid of?"

"I…I think I've discovered it." Adam took a few steps back, then the light disappeared suddenly and he fell down like if he was hit by something. He looked around and saw Tech's hand in front of him.

"Don't worry, friend." Tech helped him to stand up. "We are close."

"For one second, I thought I had figured it out, but, I lost it all of a sudden." Adam said. "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize for anything." Tech put a hand over his shoulder. "Practice, and remember what you are after."

"Fear?" Adam asked.

"Home, there we go." Tech responded and walked away from him.

Adam sighed and sat down again, with his gaze back at the sky, which was getting dark. "What's up, bud?" Matt said as he approached him.

"Hello." Adam said. "Where is Anne?"

"She is talking with Lexi." Matt sat down next to him. "I just wanted to thank you."

Adam looked at him, confused. "Thank me?"

"You let me spend time with Anne today, one doesn't know what happiness truly is until knowing her, not that it meant something remotely important for me, but, I had the need to thank you for that." Matt answered.

Adam chuckled. "You aren't any good at hiding your feelings, I can see what's going on between you two."

Matt blushed. "What? No, no it's not like that, she is my friend and she is very into you anyways."

"Into me? Come on, she has just been taking care of my wounds, that's all." Adam said.

Matt sighed. "Maybe it looks like something else, but I see her more as a friend."

Adam nodded and smirked. "So, you want to be her friend, forever?"

"I didn't say that, I mean, it might not be the right time to tell her anything that could change our friendship irreversibly." Matt responded.

"And when will it be the right moment?" Adam asked.

"Just…" Matt covered his face with both hands. "I don't know how she'll react."

"No one knows the future." Adam said. "So, what is the risk?"

Matt looked at the front and got his hands off his face, then he looked at Adam with a hopeful smile. "Do you think I should tell her?"

"I know you must do it." Adam replied.

Matt glanced at the cave place's inside, then he nodded with confidence. "Right." He glanced at Adam. "I'll do it!"

Adam nodded. "What are you waiting for?"

Matt smirked. "Thanks bud." He got into his feet and left.

Meanwhile, Lexi was sitting with her legs crossed over her bed, talking with Anne. "Now, tell me, is there a man in your life?"

Anne smirked nervously and looked away. "I don't know, to be honest."

"How can you not know?" Lexi asked.

"It is…" Anne looked at her. "Complicated."

"I´m glad complicated things are kind of my area." Lexi said. "Come on."

Anne sighed. "Matt."

"I knew it!" Lexi exclaimed.

"Really?" Anne asked. "Am I that obvious?"

Lexi chuckled. "I am kidding, in fact, I thought you kinda liked Adam, you know, the new one."

Anne's eyes widened. "Adam! No, he is not my type I mean..." She chuckled. "Maybe at first, I must admit it, but back at the pool, when we played and joked together, I felt something I wanted to confirm some time ago."

"What would that be?" Lexi asked.

"I think that I love him." Anne responded.

"Well, in that case, he must know!" Lexi said.

Anne raised an eyebrow. "Like, now? I mean, things could get weird and I prefer to…"

"Wait?" Lexi interrupted her. "One cannot wait, I know it for experience, I order you to go with him and tell him what you feel."

"Oh, you order me?" Anne crossed her arms.

"Is that an order you would want to follow?" Lexi mimicked her action.

Anne blushed and laughed a little bit. "Maybe."

"Then get going and go after him." Lexi commanded, then Anne nodded and stood up to head outside.

Matt was inhaling and exhaling repeatedly next to the pool. "Calm down, Matt." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You got this." He sighed and then gasped by Anne's sudden presence.

"You got what?" Anne asked.

"Oh." Matt blushed. "Nothing, I was just, uhm, breathing, to, focus."

"You are red and sweating." Anne said as she walked towards him. "Are you feeling well?"

"Well, is very hot in this place, you know, tropical climate, the sun." Matt replied nervously. "I…must tell you something."

"Great! Me too!" Anne exclaimed. "You first."

"No, ladies first." Matt argued.

Anne got closer to him. "I insist."

"I wouldn't feel right with that, come on, you first." Matt responded.

"I…" Anne sighed. "Okay, fine."

Matt waited for a response impatiently. "And?"

"Wait, just wait." Anne took a deep breath. "I…" All of a sudden, she leant forward and started to kiss him with an embrace; Matt closed his eyes and did the same, then they separated their lips. "That's what I wanted to tell you."

Matt smirked joyfully. "Now it's my turn." He hugged her as he started to kiss her again.


	18. Episode 18: Concurrence

Loonatics: United

Episode 18: Concurrence

"Hey, pal, pal wake up." Tech mumbled, he was standing next to Adam, who opened his eyes slowly.

"It is time already?" Adam asked with somnolence, Tech nodded and Adam got his feet out of the bed and stood up.

"Do you think you can repeat what you did the last time? Because that is our only way home." Tech asked as they both exited the cave carefully.

"I've been focusing on it, I think I can do this." Adam said when they arrived to the cave's center.

"That's good to hear." Tech said. "But still, that isn't enough."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

The entire team had been reunited by Tech below the cave place next to the pool. "You better expect this to work, because I'll kill you if you woke me up for nothing." Duck warned.

"Relax, Duck, I'm sure that he is ready." Tech said and looked at Adam.

"Maybe we can wait a little bit more for him to learn all about his abilities, I mean, what's the hurry?" Ace said before everyone looked at him with confusion.

"The hurry is, that Acmetropolis needs us, Ace." Lexi got out of the circle they had formed a little bit and gestured Ace to make him walk towards her.

Ace understood and got at her side. "What's the matter?" He mumbled.

"Why are you so afraid of leaving this place?" Lexi asked.

"I am not afraid, I just want to be sure this will work." Ace answered.

Lexi shook her head. "I know you completely, and that's not what's troubling you."

Ace sighed. "Listen, and think about this carefully, do you really miss that place?"

Lexi gasped subtly. "Ace? What is wrong with you? Of course I miss my city!"

"Well, I don't!" Ace murmured with a higher tone. "Sorry, I didn't truly mean that, but, between us, I don't want to leave, at least not yet."

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Ace turned his gaze away from her briefly. "Because now we have the chance to do more than fighting countless, threatening situations every day, every time, here we can be happy, don't you see it?" He took her hands and smirked.

"Ace, this is just a place, and a different life style, a very comfortable one, that's for sure, but that is not where your happiness or well-being should reside." Lexi argued.

Ace got thoughtful for a moment, then he spoke. "I can't do this alone."

Lexi lowered her head, then sighed and looked into his eyes. "Do you know where my life is?" She put her hand over his chest. "We'll never be alone, don't you see it?" Ace had his gaze lost on hers then he embraced her tightly. Lexi closed her eyes as she hugged him. "Can we go home?"

Ace smiled, then he broke the embrace gently and looked at her. "Only if you promise me something."

Lexi smirked. "What would that be?"

"That you'll be that place for me." Ace said.

Lexi nodded. "Always."

"Uhm, guys! This is so beautiful and everything but we still exist! Can this dude do his strange whatever it is and take us home?!" Rev complained as he pointed at Adam.

"Is he ready? Tech?" Ace asked as he and Lexi walked back to their previous positions.

"I am ready." Adam replied then he closed his eyes and lifted his hands in front of him, and a light began to shine from his forehead. The rest of them looked at the growing light with astonishment. "I see the city; I just need all of you to do one thing."

"What?" Everyone asked.

"Take each other's hands and…" Adam was interrupted.

"I'm not doing that." Rev said.

Duck shook his head. "Neither do I."

Slam growled negatively.

Adam chuckled. "I was kidding, actually."

"Adam." Tech said upset.

"Right." Adam lifted his hands a little higher, then all of a sudden a great amount of light covered everyone's sight with pure white.

The tall, oddly shaped skyscrapers beyond the large window made the sunlight to invade the HQ's lounge unevenly. The TV was on, Duck was sitting over the couch while resting his feet over the table, surrounded by the rest of the team, Slam, Tech, Rev, and Lexi. The elevator had arrived to the room then its doors opened and Ace exited from it.

"Ace." Tech said and stood up along with the others, except for Duck. "What did they tell you?"

"It was difficult, but Hill agreed to leave Adam alone." Ace responded.

"Good job!" Lexi said. "Where is he by the way?"

"He said something about discovering himself and finding his mission then he just vanished in front of us." Ace answered. "I guess we won't know about him for a long time."

"At least we know he'll be fine." Tech added.

"What about the other dudes?" Duck inquired.

"Matt and Anne? Hill was merciful and gave them the choice to rather stay with him or not." Ace replied.

"And then?" Rev said.

"They took separated paths." Ace responded.

"So, was the president involved in this, agreement?" Tech asked.

"Gillian scolded both of us a little bit but, we deserved it, kind of." Ace sat down on a couch. "Still, it's great to be back, isn't it? Rev?"

"I really missed my daily run of fifty laps around the city so yeah it is great for my health and me to be back, I mean that island was very tiny, and hot and green, I never liked it, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, running, speaking of that, it is my time to go." Rev had left a red blur behind him after he left the HQ, then in a moment he was between the team again, gasping slightly. "Done." He got into his room in a split of second.

Ace chuckled. "I'm curious to know what kind of things await us."

Darkness covered a room full of office furniture and equipment, then Matt turned the lights on. "Now!" He moved away his hand from Anne's face to let her see.

Anne looked at the place with amazement. "Wow!" She exclaimed as she walked around the office, while touching the tables' surface and glancing at the equipment. "Did you do this all in your own?"

"For you, this was totally worth it." Matt said as he walked and got next to her to contemplate the place. "Is this what you wanted? Please say yes because I've already paid one rent so…" He got interrupted by Anne's sudden kiss.

"It's perfect." Anne said.

Matt sighed with relief. "And is all ours."

On the planet's desert zone, Adam was kneeling over the sand, rubbing his hands over it with circular movements, a small structure started to form right in front of him, he stopped after he noticed he had built a room sized building. He stood up and looked at his creation, it was black and had blue, shiny lines and circles glowing over it. Adam smiled and the design of his bodysuit turned the same color. "Let's get to work."


	19. Episode 19: Magnanimous

Loonatics: United

Episode 19: Magnanimous

The Ampere Theater was surrounded by several reflectors which were aiming their almost tangible light to the cloudy sky, making the complex even more visible against the already bright city of Acmetropolis in the wake of the night. The big holographic screen over the entrance advertised an event about science and technology, which was about to begin. The theater's inside was illuminated by glowing blue, little rivers which went all the way from the floor to the ceiling of the place, the seats in front of the glowing stage were black and semi-spherical, the theater's capacity was full. Tech made sure to get the places in the first line for him and his friends. "Isn't this exiting?" Tech asked with his gaze at the front.

"Oh sure, I don't have anything better to do than listening to another science freak like you in my Friday night." Duck crossed his arms.

Ace chuckled. "Come on Duck, he just wants to see his girlfriend."

Tech looked at him. "She is not my girlfriend! She is an old coworker and I find her work pretty interesting."

"Yeah? So what's her conference about?" Lexi asked.

"Uhm, you see, well, scientific stuff, complicated things you wouldn't understand." Tech turned his gaze back to the front, then he noticed them looking at him with a grin of mockery. "What?" He looked at them with a straight face. "Come on! I'm serious, we worked together that's all." His eyes widened as the lights dimmed while he saw the shadow of the scientist who was walking towards the front of the stage. "It's her; it's her! Shut up, now!" He mumbled warningly and then focused on the person that was now right in front of the stage, the lights over the stage got brighter and revealed the woman holding the microphone, she was a deer who wore a lab coat over a black dress and she was also wearing small glasses and high heels. She began to speak after the brief cheering that the audience gave. "Thank you, thank you very much to everyone, for the ones who don't know me, I'll introduce myself, my name is Susan Sanders, I am just here to give a slight introduction to this congress, which as you may know is about sustainable technology, something I am specialized in by the way, thanks to Acmetropolis' University, so that's basically why you got me here. Okay, something the majority of people tend to separate is in one side, the technology, research, whatever you want to call it, and in the other side is the nature, the biosphere, all of that stuff, well, let me tell you that this two things can coexist in total harmony, contrary to what most of the people believe, this can be simplified in one single concept, that nature doesn't have to adapt to our scientific discoveries, but vice-versa, we cannot deny technology, it is impossible as we are in constant evolution in that matter, since the beginning, but something we can actually do is to make our creations with a level of conscience that would permit us to interlace them with nature cohesively, the challenge is to discover how, but I believe Acmetropolis is still in time to solve that matter and follow this model." Susan chuckled. "I don't want to bore you more so, please, have a happy congress."

Susan went down the stairway next to the stage while the people applauded and the remaining lights of the theater went on. "Excuse me." Tech stood up and walked by the team to approach Susan on her path next to the seats. "Susan." Tech managed to get in front of her. "Amazing speech."

Susan's eyes widened and she moved her glasses a little bit as she was surprised at seeing him. "Tech? Hi! It's been ages!"

"Well, I wouldn't say it that way because that is technically not…" Susan's brief hug interrupted Tech's words.

"Same old Tech, I'm very glad to see you, I heard you became some sort of a hero." Susan said.

Tech smirked. "Sort of, certainly, but the credit is not all for me, it's been a six people job, actually."

"Amazing." Susan smiled. "Are they here?"

"Yes, they are over there." Tech pointed at his friends who had been glancing at their whole conversation without subtlety. They both walked towards them. "Team, this is Susan Sanders, an old, co-worker from the institute." All of them stood up from their seats.

"It's a pleasure, Ace Bunny." Ace shook her hand while the rest of them greeted her casually.

"The pleasure is mine." Susan replied.

"Tech talks a lot about you." Ace gazed at Tech with a grin.

Tech blushed a little bit. "Certainly your name could've come up in a few conversations we had about regular themes like previous work experiences, people, science, stuff like that."

"Interesting." Susan turned her gaze towards Tech and smirked at him. "So, all of you have powers?" She glanced back at the rest of the team.

"I prefer to call them, gifts, you know because we don't like to presume or anything like that, we have to be humble, like always." Duck responded.

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Duck? This morning you said that all the people of Acmetropolis should admire the greatness of your superior abilities."

Duck pretended to chuckle. "I was kidding, Lexi, looks like humor sense is an ability the meteor couldn't give you, unfortunately." He gasped as he felt the bump on the head that Lexi gave him. "Ouch!"

"Now that's funny." Lexi chuckled.

Suddenly, pieces of concrete started to rain over them as the place trembled, thick branches with leaves were breaking through the walls and the ceiling began to shatter. "Watch out!" Tech exclaimed as he pulled Susan to prevent a piece of ceiling from hitting her.

"I'll stop whatever those things are, the rest of you, protect the people!" Ace hurried to get below the group of branches that was getting in violently, he began to incinerate them with his laser vision, but he noticed that new branches were breaking through seconds after he did so. "I didn't plan to do gardening today."

"Get behind me!" Tech said to Susan, she followed his command, then Tech used his magnetic power to gather some of the theater's metal to create a little, improvised fortress over a group of citizens, he did it just in time to protect them from a huge piece of concrete that shattered as it hit the fortress' roof.

Duck was destroying more falling pieces of ceiling with his orbs. "Why do bad things have to start with a quake all the time?" He approached a group of people and held them, then he teleported along with them a few meters next to the point where a piece of concrete smashed the ground.

Slam did his tornado all over the theater and gathered more heavy rubble from the air and threw it outside of the complex.

Rev was pushing people out of dangerous spots with his speed as he avoided the branches that had managed to pass through the floor and the pieces of concrete that were still falling. "This would be my idea of fun if we were just playing a classic videogame at the arcade about falling rocks, are there still arcades in Acmetropolis? That would be nice and those things are kind of cheap, but I better concentrate because this is no game of course."

Lexi was next to Ace trying to uncover the emergency exit as she was destroying the branches that were blocking it with her brain blast, but she couldn't manage to open a way out as the branches grew exponentially. "What kind of fertilizer did these things have?"

"Not one of ACME's, I believe." Ace aimed his laser vision at Lexi's brain blast which was barely destroying the branches, a little sphere of heat formed briefly when their powers crossed and then it pulverized the branches. "Get out, fast!" Ace commanded and plenty of people began to exit towards the city from the temporary path that they had opened.

The ceiling had fallen completely, the people who were still among the Loonatics inside the ruins of the theater looked scared and unsettled as they saw a bear approaching the place, who was wearing a black armor with green and yellow, glowing lines over it and a strange, blue sphere attached to the zone of the chest, the bear was moving above all of them as he generated branches from the ground with rays that he shot from his gloves, those branches were helping him to stay and walk in the air as he controlled them to simulate a floor below his feet. The bear glanced down at the crowd. "People of Acmetropolis, fear do not, as your city shall be freed from its ancient burden." He exclaimed.

"You will be afraid when you know my fury! Whoever you are." Duck prepared a pair of orbs over his hands.

"Oh, I apologize, I am Magnus Maxfield, future savior of this planet." Magnus lowered the branches that were supporting him to get nearer to the crowd and the Loonatics. "Sorry about the, aggressive entrance, but I have always believed in direct messages."

Ace took a step at the front. "And what would that message be?"

Magnus began to hover around held by the branches he continuously generated with the rays of his gloves. "Industry, mechanization, growth, things this city stands for, nothing special compared to the places I've been in, but yet, remarkable, the steel defeated us, with no right to do so, and I've come to take back what was denied to us a long time ago."

"I hope you fight as good as you talk." Ace said as Slam thundered his fingers and growled.

Magnus sighed sarcastically. "Why do you people always recur to violence and aggression?"

"You started it, big guy." Lexi ran towards a branch that led to the top where Magnus was after she had jumped over a few pieces of rubble, she jumped and climbed over several branches as she shot her brain blast towards Magnus, but each time she tried he joined branches in the shape of a shield to cover from Lexi's attacks, Lexi was holding from a branch with one hand, Magnus didn't hesitate to hit her strongly with a huge branch, she gasped and fell after letting go off her support, then Slam caught her right on time.

Slam growled with worry while carrying her over his arms then he lowered her down gently.

"I'm fine Slam, thank you." Lexi laid over the ground. "Nothing a long nap can't fix." She tried to stand up but her arm ached. "Ouch!" She rubbed her arm. "And an analgesic."

Tech was throwing scraps of metal with his powers towards the huge trunk Magnus was standing over, but it was thick enough to resist the attacks. "A little help here!" Slam did his tornado all around the trunk then Rev ran at full speed towards it and punched it with no effect, Ace was shooting his laser vision at the center and Duck tried to teleport where Magnus but when he managed to get before him, Magnus hit him with a branch and while falling, Duck teleported to the ground with no major harm.

One truck from The Eye arrived with reinforcements, the three wolves that got down the vehicle stood before the structure below Magnus. "Alright, party's over, get down here right now if you want to face the gentle side of justice." The leader of the group said through a megaphone, then the three wolves who were backing him up got in position and aimed at Magnus with their weapons.

"I'll let you know the harsh side then." Magnus aimed his fist towards the spot where they were standing, and blue rays began to exit from his gloves to the ground, suddenly a group of sharp branches with spikes grew violently from below the soldiers and went through them, leaving them lifeless instantly.

The crowd started to run scared and horrified after seeing that scene, Ace and the rest had stopped trying to break into the trunk, Ace looked at them after he had contemplated the event. "Loonatics! Fall back!"

"What?!" Lexi questioned.

"But boss, we can face this…" Tech got interrupted.

"Fall back! Is an order!" Ace commanded and flew away with his jetpack.

"Tech, what is happening?!" Susan said with anguish.

"Just hold tight." Tech embraced her then activated his jetpack and left the place, he and the rest of the team followed Ace towards the tower.

Magnus grinned as he watched them flying away. "Your time has come, Acmetropolis."


	20. Episode 20: Disruption

Loonatics: United

Episode 20: Disruption

The Loonatics were looking attentively at the news program of the morning on the lounge's TV; the screen displayed images of the incident of the previous night with Magnus Maxfield as the reporter's feminine voice narrated the events. "It is yet unknown where this new threat comes from, and since last night there haven't been any more signs of him." Ace turned off the TV with the remote and glanced at the window. "I'm sure it won't be the last we'll see of him, so we have to be prepared for the next strike, how is that going, Tech?"

"It's been difficult for Susan and me to find a viable solution, but don't worry, boss, we are getting close." Tech stood up from the couch. "She is in the lab, I better check if she has found something useful."

Duck waited for him to walk far enough from them. "Ace, do you think is a good idea to let them work together? I mean, he can get distracted."

"Two brains are better than one Duck, besides, you always get distracted during missions and we don't say anything about it." Lexi replied.

"I just find it weird to see him that happy." Duck argued.

Susan was standing before the lab's touch surface, reading articles and taking notes with its tactile functions. She heard Tech entering the room and approaching her. "Before you ask, no, I still haven't come up with anything."

"Mind if I check something?" Tech asked, and Susan moved to let him manipulate the surface. He found a close-up picture of Magnus from the news database and zoomed the image towards his chest. "Do you think that could be the source of his power?"

Susan leaned forward to get a better look. "Honestly, I see it more as a container, whatever is powering him up must be inside of it."

"See that blue glow?" Tech zoomed directly at the container. "Some level of light is lower at the center." He glanced at her. "You are right, something is inside of it."

Susan nodded, then she and Tech focused again on the image. "The question is…"

"What." They both completed the phrase.

Susan chuckled. "There are things that never change, isn't it?"

"Like what?" Tech asked.

"We, working together, the ideas mixing and turning into a consensual answer." Susan smirked. "Like a few years ago."

Tech smiled her back. "Me completing your…"

"Phrases." Susan said and both of them shared a laugh. "Despite this whole, unfortunate situation, I am very glad with this new chance that I had to see you again, maybe when all this madness is over we can, go out somewhere."

"Sure, it's not like if I knew lots of places to go besides my lab but we can try." Tech replied. "And to be honest, I got very excited when I knew you were returning to the city."

"Well, I am here just to do this congress stuff but maybe I have found a reason to stay." Susan wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Won't you miss Alumia? I heard it was great this time of the year." Tech blushed and put his hands over her shoulders.

"That's true, but that place ain't got everything I want in my life." Susan started to lean forward, same as Tech, before they could kiss Duck interrupted the moment as he entered the room with alarm.

"The fat guy is attacking the Chroma Tower!" Duck raised an eyebrow as he saw them. "What is going on?"

"Oh." Tech moved away from her and made up a cough. "Nothing, we were just, discussing, scientific, things, Duck."

Duck rolled his eyes. "Just hurry up before Ace starts yelling at me." He walked out of the lab.

Tech scratched the back of his neck. "Uhm, I must go, can you stay here and continue researching?"

"Sure, just take care, okay?" Susan said.

Tech nodded and kissed her cheek, then he took his jet-pack from a table behind him and put it on, then he left Susan alone in the lab.

The Loonatics were flying between the city's buildings. "Alright team, there are over a hundred apartments in that tower and the people are trapped, our priority is to take them all out to safety." Ace said then they landed on the rooftop of a building nearby the situation. "Tech, Duck, Rev, you three will find a way into the tower and rescue all the people you can, Lexi and I will try to destroy the branches and last but not least, Slam, I need you to do your tornado around the branches to see if you can weaken their strength."

"And who is going after Magnus?" Tech asked.

"Priorities first, Doc." Ace responded then he reactivated his jet-pack. "Come on, Lexi!" He flew towards the tower followed by her.

"You heard him, let's find a way in." Tech commanded and they all used their jet-packs to head towards the bottom of the building. They landed in front of one of its sides, which was covered with branches, Rev ran a few times by it to do a quick check so he could find an entrance.

"And?" Duck asked after Rev returned with them.

Rev shook his head. "It is sealed similarly to a can of soda, not one of my best analogies, but I think it works to illustrate our…"

"Enough." Duck took a step at the front. "You forgot I have the master key." He generated two orbs from his hands and threw them towards the branches, the orbs exploded and made a brief entrance before more branches generated and resealed the aperture Duck had opened. "Oh come on!" Duck sighed. "The easy way then." He got in between Tech and Rev and put his hands over their shoulders and teleported along them beyond the wall of branches. "Your welcome." Duck walked forward and made another pair of orbs then threw them towards the emergency exit they had in front, destroying the metallic door completely and leaving a hole for they to pass through. "Your welcome again."

"I don't tend to say this, but good job, Duck." Tech said while the three of them got inside the building.

Outside the upper side of the building, Ace and Lexi were flying around it while trying to disintegrate the branches with their respective powers. Ace had shot his laser vision towards a spot but it had no effect. "Any progress?"

Lexi shot her brain blast towards a pair of thick branches which didn't even move with the attack. "These things are very resistant to our powers, Ace!"

Ace was hovering in front of their target, thoughtful, then his eyes widened. "Lexi, the theater!" Ace looked at her. "Remember! We got to combine them!"

"You are right!" Lexi began to shoot her brain blast again towards the branches around the building, then Ace aimed his laser vision towards the ending point of the line of her ability, a sphere began to appear like the previous time they had done the same movement, then it exploded and destroyed a great quantity of branches, leaving that area uncovered.

"We did it!" Lexi celebrated.

Ace pointed towards the hole they had opened. "They're still growing, only slower."

"Will it be enough to free the building?" Lexi asked.

Ace nodded at her. "I think so, let's do the same in other areas…" He was suddenly hit and thrown towards a building by a long branch which had been moved towards him by Magnus, who was inside a small dome he had constructed with branches on the rooftop of the tower. Blue rays were exiting from his gloves towards the inside of his refuge while he was sitting on the roof with his arms and legs crossed. Ace broke through the glass of a skyscraper's window and landed heavily over the floor of an office, making some employees to run away scared. He was laying over pieces of desk and glass then he started to stand up slowly. Lexi was evading the hits of more branches, Ace ran towards the edge of the window he had broken and activated his jet-pack.

Meanwhile, Rev was gathering people from the destroyed apartments as he ran and dodged the branches. "Sorry people but I have to do this to prevent you from being crushed by this guy's powers or by the building or by both."

Tech was levitating huge scraps of metal to let the people escape below them. "Come on! The exit is over there." He said as he struggled to keep the metal floating.

"Trust me! Take your hands!" Duck commanded, and the people he was helping followed his order. "Good job, now take mine." He said to a female cheetah that was next to him, she nodded and took his hand, then Duck teleported himself and the entire group of people outside of the building.

Slam was throwing tornadoes with his hands at the branched tower, he growled after noticing it was not damaging it at all. He then turned himself into a tornado and started to hover around the tower.

Tech lowered down the metal he had been lifting then Rev got in front of him after running. "There are no more people inside I've already checked twice."

"Where's Duck?" Tech asked.

Duck teleported next to them. "It's done, they are already outside, and safe."

"You want the tough way? You got it." Magnus said and uncrossed his arms then threw more rays inside the dome.

Ace and Lexi were flying as they tried to reach the dome-like structure where Magnus was hiding but then dozens of branches with sharp spines grew from it. "Ace! At your right!"

Ace turned his gaze towards the spiked branch that was after him and rapidly used his laser vision to try to burn it out, but he had reacted too late as the branch hit him hardly and sent him to the rooftop of a nearby building.

"Of course it was about to get worse!" Duck said as he jumped over a spiked branch that grew from the floor.

Tech constructed a wall of metal to slow down the branches' growth. "Duck! Get us out of here; we are cornered!"

"Yeah, I don't want to die being smashed by deadly branches with spikes which act like if they had a mind of their own under an apartment building that's just too specific!" Rev was rapidly dodging the random branches that grew below him.

"I know! It's hard to…" Duck crouched to evade a branch that went through the two walls at their sides. "Reach you…" He teleported behind Tech and Rev and grasped their arms. "Finally!" He made the three of them to disappear from the place before the entire building started to collapse.

"Ace!" Lexi exclaimed with worry and didn't prepare to get hit by another branch on her jet-pack, which started to malfunction from one turbine and she couldn't control it, the jet-pack took her towards the rooftop where Ace was laying and she landed hard over it. She stood up slowly and dropped her damaged jet-pack; she approached Ace and kneeled down next to him, then noticed he was still conscious. "Ace, you are hurt!" She cleaned a bit of blood that came from a cut on his snout with her hand.

Ace coughed. "Don't worry." He groaned as Lexi helped him to stand up. "A few stitches and I'll be like new." They were both looking at the falling building, the concrete turning into ashes and a huge trunk revealing itself behind the dust. Tech, Duck and Rev saw them from above and landed safely on the rooftop with their jet-packs, Slam had also joined them after using his tornado to get over there. The team kept glancing at the chaos for a couple of minutes, then Ace turned backwards and looked at his comrades. "Loonatics, this is war."


	21. Episode 21: A Conglomerate Of Echoes

Loonatics: United

Episode 21: A Conglomerate Of Echoes

Tech had come back to the HQ along the rest of the team; he was in the lab working with Susan to try finding a solution; they were sitting in front of the touch table which they divided in two separate workstations for each one to work with. "How are your skills in botany?" Susan asked while she underlined some text in the screen with her index finger.

"They could be better." Tech replied.

"Enough to understand that those things that attacked you didn't act by themselves?" Susan sent Tech her work from her workstation to his with a slide.

Tech read the text that had appeared on his side of the screen. "So, plants are alive, yeah I actually knew that before learning to walk."

"Not only that, Tech, there are some studies that state that some plants have developed advanced sensorial capacities to adapt and survive in their environment." Susan now sent him a diagram with drawings of plants and waves surrounding them.

Tech raised an eyebrow as he studied the images. "Are you telling me they can speak and see?"

Susan sighed. "It is much more complicated than that and open to interpretation but yes."

Tech nodded. "And how is this helpful?"

"I always have to do all the work for you." Susan joked. "This means Magnus can actually see and feel through them, the branches."

Tech looked at her. "That is why he is so difficult to attack."

"And the reason why the branches he generated attacked you so precisely back in the building." Susan added.

"We just have to find a way to block those things senses." Tech proposed.

Susan smirked. "I wanted you to say that." She slid an image with a design towards Tech's workstation. "You like it?"

"Wow." Tech zoomed in the image. "Electric pulses, magnetic waves, micro-engines, you want to…"

"Unstabilize their sensorial system." Susan completed the sentence.

Tech nodded and grinned at the screen. "This could work, Susan." He stood up from his seat and headed to the lab's main computer and started to type in the keyboard. "A particular color you may want to choose for these devices of yours? Except blue, I forgot to put that on the shopping list."

Meanwhile, Ace and Lexi were standing in front of the lounge's large window, glancing at the huge trunk Magnus had formed where the Chroma Tower used to be. "This is just another challenge, we have faced worse things." Lexi said.

Ace shook his head. "Maybe, but I still think we aren't the heroes this city deserves."

Lexi gazed him. "Again with that?" She put a hand on his shoulder. "We've talked about this before; you are just tired, that's all, we'll solve this, we always do."

"I know, Lexi, but there will be a new one after this." Ace argued.

Lexi sighed. "I thought you had already learned that."

"What?" Ace inquired.

"Everyone seeks a life without hassles, but that is impossible, Ace, there will be more problems to get through and new challenges to come, it hurts to accept it but there are things we can't control." Lexi responded.

Ace looked at her. "Maybe you are right, but…" He sighed. "I can't help but feel guilty."

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand."

"This gift was given to me, and I am like, ignoring it." Ace answered.

"Having powers is something we all have faced together, in our way." Lexi said.

Ace glanced back at the window." Not that gift, I mean, being the leader, what kind of leader acts like this, like me?"

"No one is asking you to be fearless." Lexi placed both hands on his face and looked him in the eyes, she leaned forward then gave him a brief kiss. "Better?"

Ace lowered his gaze, then grinned slightly. "More less."

Lexi chuckled. "That's all I need to hear."

Ace stood there and Lexi started to walk away from him. "Lexi." He said then she looked at him over her shoulder.

Ace smiled at her. "Thanks." She returned the gesture and left the lounge. When he was alone again, he put his focus back on the trunk and clenched his fists while observing it.

The HQ's training room had equipment specially designed for the abilities of each member of the team. Slam was on his correspondent zone punching one of the blocks that were attached to the wall, which faded their black color to red with every punch, function that helped Slam to measure the strength of his punches.

He angrily growled every time he hit the block, each time the red tone covered more space of the black surface, his fists hitting the equipment one after the other. The rhythm of his punches began to become faster, and the black of the block started to be a minimal part of its surface as the strength of Slam had made the red to take over.

His snarls passed from angry ones to desperate ones, his fists were still hitting the block with no mercy, he didn't stop until he broke the block in half and it stopped working. He was gasping in front of the destroyed piece of equipment, looking at its two broken parts with desire to divide them even more, he sighed and sat down on a wooden bench next to his training zone.

"Tech was so happy when he thought he had discover a Slam-proof material." Duck said as he arrived to the training room and saw the broken blocks. "I'll enjoy telling him he was wrong so much."

Slam growled with indifference.

"What's up with you, big guy?" Duck asked while he started to do stretching exercises on his zone which was next to Slam's. He noticed Slam practically ignoring his question. "Hey, is this about, Magnus?"

Slam sighed and nodded then let out an upset growl.

"Weak? You? Come on, maybe we aren't the best friends in the world but one thing I do know about you is that you aren't weak." Duck stepped on the pad over the floor of the zone designed for him and started to practice his aim by throwing orbs towards a group of targets that were floating a few meters ahead of him.

Slam shook his head and stood up; he rested his back on the wall and lowered his gaze to the floor then crossed his arms.

Duck looked back for a moment and saw Slam's position of hopelessness. "Man, even I with my undoubtedly awesome and superior powers fail sometimes, can you believe it?" He threw an orb towards one of the targets and failed to hit it. "See?" He looked at him again. "I didn't make a drama out of this."

Slam had been thoughtful, but he got what Duck was trying to tell him, he smirked and glanced at him, then nodded and walked towards the exit.

"The devices shall be ready in a couple of minutes." Tech said then sat down next to Susan.

"We still have to find a way to implement them without Magnus noticing." Susan replied.

Tech sighed. "That's true, we must come up with something."

Susan grinned. "I think there's plenty of time to do that." She looked at him and placed a hand on his cheek and made him to look her back.

"Oh, now I remember." Tech caressed her face gently. "We were in the middle of something, weren't we?"

Susan chuckled. "Should we start when we left off?"

"You've just read my mind." Tech responded, and they both began to lean towards the other.

"Tech!" Rev was suddenly next to them ahead of a brief, red blur. "I have a great idea to fight the bad guy, but I'll need lots of…"

Tech growled and stared at him with anger. "Really?!"

"What? Did I interrupt something important like a revolutionary scientific discovery that could change the course of life as we know it but it won't happen because I…"

"No! Rev." Tech shook his head. "We have found a solution, but we don't know how to execute it."

Susan raised an eyebrow and pointed at Rev. "Wait; you are the fast one?"

Rev nodded. "Absolutely I can even run all day through the city without breaking a sweat and also I have practiced juggling but it is much harder than it looks."

Susan looked at Tech. "Maybe he could do it."

Tech gazed her with question. "Juggling?"

Susan rolled her eyes. "The devices! He can put them around the branches and maybe Magnus won't see him."

Tech snapped his fingers. "You are right!"

"And that surprises you?" Susan joked.

"Rev, are you helping us with this?" Tech asked.

"Let me think about it for a second yeah I will do it." Rev answered.


	22. Episode 22: Course Of Action

Loonatics: United

Episode 22: Course Of Action

The team was reunited in the lounge discussing Tech and Susan's plan. "Is too risky for Rev to go alone." Lexi stated.

"He'll need air support." Ace looked at Tech. "Are the hover-bikes ready, Doc?"

Tech nodded. "Clean and upgraded."

"Neat, don't worry, Rev, we'll watch your back." Ace said.

"Someone has to get inside the dome and get the guy out of there." Susan suggested.

"I'll take care of that." Ace glanced at Lexi. "You will help me enter and take him down."

"Sure, boss." Lexi replied.

"You know you don't have to call me that way." Ace argued.

Lexi grinned. "Okay, then sure, sweetheart."

Ace blushed then gazed Susan to quickly get out of the conversation. "Uhm, so these things will get his power crazy?"

Susan nodded. "Like a system malfunction, he will stand no chance." She handed Rev the disc shaped devices she had been holding. "Just put them all around the branches."

"And then I will activate them remotely from my hover-bike." Tech added.

Rev looked at the devices. "How fast do I have to run because I actually can run at a certain speed depending on the situation I can run fast, extremely fast, unbelievably fast…"

"Just don't screw this up, Rev!" Duck exclaimed.

"Unbelievably fast, then." Rev responded.

Ace began to walk towards the hangar. "Enough talk, let's end this mess."

The team had put on their special helmets and got on their respective vehicles, the gate opened in front of them. "Show him what we are made of." Ace accelerated followed by the others then they flew out of the place with their hover-bikes en route to Magnus' massive structure.

"I'm close." Magnus was inside of the dome throwing the rays from his gloves towards a deep hole that went all the way down the structure and beyond, which he had been digging with the help of the branches. "What is this? They want to play again?" He growled and began to throw rays more aggressively towards the dome's inside.

"How are those devices, Rev?" Tech was hovering on his bike in front of the structure keeping an eye on Rev's management of his task along with Duck and Slam.

Rev was collocating the devices on the branches with certain separation between them all around the trunk's bottom while dodging several attacks from Magnus. He ran quickly to a safe area over the roof of a nearby building. "It's done but that guy almost crushed me with his weird wooden tentacles."

"Just in time, then." Tech pressed a key on his bike's keyboard, then the blue lights of the black discs that Rev had attached on the surface of the branches started to glow intermittently and a glow of the same color surrounded the branches' outside.

Magnus' attacks now moved at random directions and they hit places far away from Ace and Lexi's true positions, they had parked their hover-bikes on a rooftop. "It's working." Ace said as they flew towards the dome with their jetpacks. "We are close already." They managed to get in front of the dome, Lexi began to shoot her brain blast towards the outside of the dome, Ace did the same with his laser vision and made sure to be hitting Lexi's power too.

Magnus groaned and shook his head with anger. "You can't stop the imminence of my new future!" He screamed. "The blue of your world was left to die by those who had also murdered its original, forgotten nature, I am here to restore that legacy!" The huge structure started to shake and the branches Magnus' was generating from the bottom started to crush the disc-shaped devices.

 _The kids played around the grassed ground under the coverage of the shadow the tall trees made by stopping the moonlight. A ball made of mud and leaves had been kicked towards a bush far from their improvised playground between the cabins. "I got it!" A young, infant Magnus took the duty to recover the ball, the other little bears didn't oppose to that. He hurried towards the bush and began to seek for the ball with his sight as he walked with his lowered gaze. After about a minute, he hadn't found the ball yet, with a feeling of failure, he sat down over a rock to think in a possible excuse, then all of a sudden, he heard sounds of huge engines like the ones of big machinery mixed with a burst of bullets, screams could be heard later from his position, fear invaded him then he ran back to the village and hid behind a tree, only to take his head out of coverage to see what had happened, he could only see two things, dead bodies product of a previous, merciless attack and huge industrial vehicles parked in front of the tragedy, he noticed no movement and headed to his cabin in a hurry, almost ignoring the corpses of his friends. He entered the cabin and found his mother dead over the wooden floor with her pink dress covered with blood. "Mommy!". He exclaimed with horror then kneeled down next to his mother's corpse and started to cry enraged, he hugged her and spent the night mourning at her side._

Magnus had managed to destroy the devices, but his gaze was lost in a space between a group of branches, his mind went back to the present when a brief cracking noise came before a sudden explosion of broken branches and sticks occurred behind him, he got hit by a thick piece of branch and growled by the pain, he stood up quickly and turned around, Ace and Lexi had made an entrance in the dome with the combination of their powers, they landed in the surface under the dome and deactivated their jetpacks to stand before him. "The party is over!" Lexi exclaimed.

"There are things you don't understand." Magnus made a large spiked branch to grow from below and threw it with strength towards them.

"Now!" Ace said and began to shoot his laser vision towards the tip of the upcoming branch, Lexi used her brain blast to hit the end of Ace's power, they had made a powerful beam that was stopping the branch on its way, the mix of red and pink light blocked the branch's violent approach.

"We can do this all day, Magnus!" Lexi exclaimed.

"The power of the hyper-seed is limitless compared to your weak abilities!" Magnus argued.

"So that's the source of his power." Ace thought.

"Is it that weird thing on your chest?" Lexi asked.

Magnus laughed mockingly. "This is just a half of the true, beautiful horror I'll unleash on your gray city!"

Ace and Lexi focused their power even more, after a harsh effort they managed to hit the branch so hard they pushed Magnus onto a wall of the dome strongly.

Magnus groaned and took a blue, glowing seed from a container on his suit. "Guess a few meters won't make a huge difference."

"There is no escape, Magnus!" Ace began to walk towards him.

Magnus still laid on the ground. "For you, Loonatics." He threw the seed into the great hole he had been digging.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, are we supposed to be scared, or this is some kind of surrender?" Suddenly, the planet started to shake violently.

"Oh! What now!" Lexi complained.

Magnus grinned and stood up. "Rebirth." He threw rays at the ground and his legs started to get surrounded and covered by thick branches, same as his torso and arms, his head got covered by a helmet made of branches, which only revealed his eyes of fury. He had constructed a giant armor around himself. "Fear change, or embrace it." Magnus leaned forward and moved his arms and legs to the front to free himself and the armor from the branched wall. He crouched then jumped with his fists facing upwards and got out of the dome by breaking its ceiling, leaving a hole and getting out of Ace and Lexi's sight.

The planet was still trembling heavily. "We must get out of here!" Ace said and flew through the hole they had opened before followed by Lexi, they got out of the dome and stood hovering in front of the structure.

"Look, Ace!" Lexi pointed at the trunk's bottom from which dense branches started to get out and become bigger slowly and starting to surround the nearby buildings.

"The entire city will be eaten if we don't do anything, fast." Ace said. "Lexi, contact the others, we are going back to the HQ."

The quake had stopped before the Loonatics went back to the tower by Ace's command. They were reunited inside the lab, standing behind Tech and Susan who were sitting in front of the lab's main computer. "Hyper-what?" Duck asked.

"He called it hyper-seed, I guessed he was referring to that strange thing on his chest." Ace responded.

Tech nodded as he pressed some keys. "And you guessed right, see this picture." He displayed an image of Magnus' on the big screen in front of them, zoomed in the zone of the chest.

"Wow, now that's high definition." Duck praised.

Tech grinned cockily. "I enhanced the image." Susan hit him on the arm rather hard with her elbow. "Ouch! Alright, alright, I'm sorry, we both did so." He rubbed his arm.

Lexi raised an eyebrow while glancing at the image. "Is it, broken?" The picture revealed what looked like one piece of a cracked seed inside Magnus' container.

"He did mention something about the half of its power." Ace added.

"If my assumptions are correct, that glowing thing you said he threw to the depths was a complete exemplar of the so-called hyper-seed, which increases the fertile properties of the environment it reaches." Tech stated. "Think about it for a second, if he managed to make this mess with just a piece of one, what he could possibly do with the whole thing?"

"Devastation." Ace answered. "How much time do we have left?"

Tech displayed a thermal chart on the screen. "Judging by these lectures, I would say enough, but not too much before things start to get ugly."

"Ugly, ugly? Or casual ugly? Because I don't want to live in a planet covered with branches, branches and more branches we've used that word a lot I can't even stand the word itself how am I going to live with that!" Rev argued.

Tech sighed. "If nothing comes up, they'll get ugly, ugly, Rev."

Susan was thoughtful, then she gasped and snapped her fingers. "Zeolites!"

"Hey, we all do what we can here, I might have a few things to tell you as well so show more respect!" Duck complained as he looked at her angrily.

Susan sighed. "No! That may be the answer to our trouble, tell them Tech."

"Zeolites, uhm, they are minerals that have powerful dehydration properties." Tech explained.

"And we could use them to fabricate a weapon that could beat Magnus." Susan added.

"Promising, where can we find those rocks?" Ace asked.

"That's the thing." Susan lowered her head. "Acmetropolis lacks of this mineral."

Tech scratched his chin. "Maybe not." He revolved his chair backwards to face his boss. "Ace, I think I remember a place full of that stuff."

"I am all ears, Tech." Ace said.

Duck let out a chuckle. "Quite literally." Ace looked at him warningly. "What? Come on."

Ace rolled his eyes and looked back at Tech. "You were saying?"

"I saw some formations back on Ziox's cave." Tech replied. "Enough to stop Magnus."

"The giant, green, scaled lion's lair!" Duck exclaimed as his eyes widened.

Ace nodded. "Sounds like a plan, Slam and I will get that mineral for you, the rest will stay here and watch over Magnus."


	23. Episode 23: Groundwork

Loonatics: United

Episode 23: Groundwork

Susan and Tech were arguing inside the HQ's lab, standing in front of a work table. "This needs a harness Susan! Come on!" Tech argued as he lifted the rifle he had been holding right before her face. "Just use some logic!"

Susan growled. "It's the harness or the voltaic repeater and I refuse to take the first option!" She lowered down the weapon from her sight aggressively.

"The repeater?! Why do you insist that much on that?" Tech complained.

"Do you want your friends to be electrocuted?!" Susan crossed her arms.

"That is not…entirely possible but I mean it's not likely." Tech replied.

Susan sighed. "Alright, it's okay." She took a deep breath. "We can solve this." She exhaled. "What if we put a compressed holo-shield instead of the harness?"

"Give me a break that's…actually a good idea." Tech said.

Susan nodded with a grin. "And that way…"

"The repeater won't be compromised." Tech completed the phrase.

"Okay." Susan turned to the table and continued to work on the component she had been working on."

"Okay." Tech refocused on the work and put the rifle over the table; Susan slid it to her side to install some components. "Susan?"

"Yes?" Susan was soldering the weapon's chips.

"Sorry." Tech scratched the back of his neck.

Susan raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "For what?"

Tech sighed. "You see, I am not accustomed to work with someone else besides me, sometimes I can get…"

"Frustrating?" Susan smirked.

Tech nodded. "Yeah and…"

"Authoritarian?" Susan interrupted him.

"That might very well be an exaggeration but…" Tech got interrupted once again.

Susan chuckled. "It's okay, Tech, I also have my temper sometimes, there is nothing to worry about."

Tech sighed with relief. "You are unique, Susan." He looked at her eyes. "Thank you."

Susan grinned. "You know, despite everything; I've really enjoyed working with you."

"Well, teamwork can be really effective when is about applied science." Tech replied.

"Maybe I was too specific." Susan put a hand on his shoulder. "I enjoy being with you."

Tech smiled. "And I double that, of course."

In the meantime, Lexi, Rev and Duck were watching over Magnus, each one of them was standing on the edge of a rooftop of a different edifice, they had made sure to cover three quadrants of that part of the city in case Magnus tried to make another mess. "Rev, can you go and see what he is doing? I didn't bring my binoculars." Lexi said through her suit's comm.

Rev answered from the rooftop he was covering. "Sure Lexi maybe he is rethinking about his life and his recent actions and wants to reconsider about the decisions he has made…"

Duck growled. "Just do it, Rev! Can't you save your opinions for yourself?"

"Sure, maybe I have to see someone who helps me with this need to speak my mind all the time…" Rev was interrupted.

"Rev!" Lexi and Duck both said.

Rev ran fast over the building's facade towards the street. "Take it easy guys I'm not that annoying one day I met…" He had approached Magnus, he ran carefully behind him and focused on what he was seeing as his speed slowed down the environment, he saw him staring at a monument which was a big brick of marble with small plaques with names printed on them, he managed to hear a scream of rage and hate of him just before he made a huge, hammer-like shape with the help of the branches around his arms then he smashed the monument with it and destroyed it.

"Liars!" Magnus yelled then Rev raised an eyebrow at the scene he had seen then he returned to the rooftop from where he had been surveilling the situation. "The guy destroyed the Clarkson Monument For The Fallen." Rev communicated.

Lexi scratched her chin. "The big rock with the names?"

"Yes." Rev replied.

"And, aren't you going to drive us crazy with unnecessary details?" Duck inquired.

"That's all I had to say." Rev responded.

Lexi sighed. "I'll contact Ace to ask him for orders."

Ace and Slam were inside of Ziox's cave, walking inside its dark depths looking for the zeolites Tech had mentioned. "He did what?!" Ace told Lexi through the communication device of his suit. "Did anyone get hurt? No, okay, please, don't act unless civilians are at risk, otherwise, just keep an eye on him as you've been doing." Ace sighed. "It is too risky, you three won't stand a chance, do it only if absolutely necessary, understood? Alright, thanks, we'll be back soon."

Slam growled with pain after he hit his forehead with the upper part of the place of the cave they were walking though while going down through a leaned rocky path.

"Careful, Slam, I'll need you to carry those rocks when we find them." Ace said and Slam snarled affirmatively while they arrived to an alternate cavern. "I'm so glad Tech put this glow in the dark function in our suits, I forgot to bring a lantern."

Slam chuckled and growled mockingly as they kept walking.

"Well yes, I am the leader but you know, I am not that responsible." Ace replied while they crouched a little bit to walk through a small tunnel.

Slam raised an eyebrow and snarled with doubt.

"It's true!" Ace placed a hand on the wall outside of the tunnel and got fully into his feet again along with Slam. "Sometimes this part of the job just, changes you and makes you, you know, look good to others and increase their expectations, and since that happens, you commit to live up to that." He gazed at the new place they had entered and gasped after he managed to see something. "Could those be?" Ace pointed towards a formation of white, porous rocks that was ahead of them.

Slam walked past Ace and stood before the rocks, he growled and threw a punch at the formation, making it to collapse into individual, yet big pieces of the mineral.

Ace looked at his surroundings then walked to where Slam was. "I can't find other distinctive rocks other than those."

Slam looked at him as if he was waiting for an order.

"Take all you can from that, it seems to fit Tech's description." Ace commanded then Slam nodded and grabbed several chunks of the mineral. They both walked all the way back to the principal cave then activated their jetpacks and flew out of the hole heading towards the city. "Lexi, any news?"

"Nothing to worry about for now, Ace, except for the growing branches of course." Lexi replied from the other side of the line.

"Slam and I are in our way to the HQ, see you there." Ace concluded as the city's skyscrapers began to get in their sight.

Tech and Susan had finished the weapons after Ace and Slam had provided them with the zeolites. The entire team was reunited in the lab before a table with Tech and Susan behind it. "Who will test them first?" Tech asked.

"Me! This awesome, threateningly looking rifle!" Duck said with excitement as he moved forward towards the table and admired the large weapon over it.

"You got good eyes for greatness, Duck." Tech handed him the weapon. "I call this the Zeo-Shot, I made one for each one of us, it dehydrates everything its beam reaches."

"Can I test it on Rev?" Duck looked through the aim and pointed the rifle at his comrade.

"You are so funny Duck but I know all of you would miss me in a split of second." Rev looked at his friends. "Right?"

Tech sighed. "Just shoot at this, Duck." Tech walked towards a plant pot that was next to a window and dragged it with effort closer to Duck's position.

Duck aimed at the large plant. "You've won a powerful enemy, the same, the unique..."

"Time is running, Duck." Lexi warned.

Duck sighed. "Sometimes you can be a little too boring, guys." He pressed the trigger and a crystal clear beam came from the weapon, it hit the plant directly and made it to turn into mere particles. Duck moved his sight from the aim and looked at the remains of the plant. "This guy has got serious trouble."

Ace nodded at the results. "Good job Tech, same to you Susan."

"And that's not all." Susan took a spherical, semi-transparent object from the table and lifted it to let Ace see it. "This is the Zeo-Boom; someone will have to throw it on the same place the hyperseed is located, it will dehydrate it and stop its power with no doubt."

Ace took the Zeo-Boom as Susan handed it to him. "I will do it, Lexi, you'll be my support, the others must destroy the growing branches to give us time and free the city." He looked at Tech then at the rest of his team. "Do you want to end this? This is our last chance."

Lexi nodded. "Give me one of those rifles; we got a jerk to take down."


	24. Episode 24: Pacts And Pathways

Loonatics: United

Episode 24: Pacts And Pathways

The final brawl was taking place on Acmetropolis' downtown with the sunset as its witness, Magnus threw large, spiked branches through the arm of his armor and almost hit Duck but Tech had shot his weapon towards the attack and dehydrated the branch just before it could hurt him. "Focus, Duck." Tech dodged a branch as he crouched and aimed at Magnus' armor feet.

"It's hard with so many of them coming from everywhere!" Duck replied while Magnus threw rays to the ground with his other fist and made branches to grow violently towards them. "By the way, weren't we going just to do the gardening stuff?"

Tech fired at Magnus' feet and managed to destroy the armor's branch-made legs, making him to lose balance and fall to the ground. "That was the plan but this guy is just too unpredictable, we better keep him busy while Ace and Lexi try to reach the dome."

Rev ran fast towards a lamppost while Magnus was trying to stand up, then got in the top of it and jumped. "You messed with the wrong city and the wrong heroes with the weirdest of master plans that is not too relevant right now but you shall get what you deserve!" Rev said while he was right over his head and shot the weapon's beam at the armor's chest, making it to vanish in particles.

Magnus growled as what was left of his armor collapsed completely along with him, his face had hit the concrete once again. "Loonatics." He coughed and got into his feet slowly. Armorless, he tried to generate more rays with his gloves but Slam ran towards him and punched him in the face, Magnus groaned but managed to take the hit. He struck back at Slam with a kick on his belly, Slam pretended as if it didn't hurt, then he threw his Zeo-Shot to the side-walk.

"Slam! What the heck are you doing?!" Tech exclaimed while he and the rest destroyed some growing branches that were about to surround a building.

Slam growled cockily, then he placed his hand over Magnus' chest.

"No, you need it! Big brain!" Duck replied.

Slam ignored him and started to crush the container that Magnus' had over his chest.

Magnus couldn't free himself from Slam's grasp. "Get off me! Colossal beast!" Slam didn't let go off Magnus' arm and kept crushing the container's glass until it crashed and exploded into several tiny pieces, the fragment of hyperseed was caught by Slam with his hand while it was still on the air, Slam didn't hesitate to crush the seed as well.

Magnus laid on the ground, angry and upset, he stood up aggressively and looked at the remains of the fragment on the concrete. "What have you done?!" He ran enraged towards Slam.

Slam prepared a punch as he moved his arm backwards and then punched Magnus' so hard he sent him several streets away from the place.

Tech, Duck and Rev walked towards Slam with amazement. "I must say this, Slam, that was awesome." Duck stated.

"So, it's over?" Rev asked, then they noticed Magnus flying with propellers he had under his boots towards the dome from the distance.

"This could be obviousness, but I guess you talked too fast, Rev." Tech replied.

Ace and Lexi were flying towards the dome with their jetpacks and their weapons loaded and ready. "I'll drop the bomb just as we arrive, hope Magnus is still busy dealing with them." Ace said.

"Don't worry Ace; I'll cover you." Lexi replied while they entered the dome through one of the holes it had on its top.

Magnus was already expecting them, standing in front of the hole, guarding it. "Stand back! No one will pass until the growth is complete!" He exclaimed then the planet trembled slightly.

Ace noticed the container that had been on his chest was gone along with the hyperseed fragment. "Lost something?"

Magnus growled. "I don't need my power to rip your head out of your body."

"Wow, that was a little, extreme." Lexi mocked. "I'll take care of him, Ace." She pointed at Magnus with her weapon.

Ace nodded and took the Zeo-Boom from a belt of his suit, then he lowered his weapon and left it on the ground.

"What is that?!" Magnus tried to take a step towards him, but Lexi stopped him by shooting her weapon's beam in front of his feet, making a hole on the ground as the branched surface dehydrated.

"Stay still, Magnus." Lexi aimed her weapon directly at him again. Ace kneeled down in front of the hole and activated the Zeo-Boom by pressing a red button on it, the bomb started to beep, announcing it was about to explode.

"No!" Magnus exclaimed and hurried towards Ace, Lexi tried to shoot him with the Zeo-Shot but failed to hit him as she struggled to encounter non-lethal points. Magnus tackled Ace just before he could even try to drop the bomb, which had flew out of his grasp at Magnus' attack.

Ace gasped as they both fell down and groaned when Magnus hit his face with his knee. Ace growled and impacted his chest with his elbow then searched with his hand for the bomb by patting the ground, he managed to take it. "Lexi!" He threw the bomb and Lexi caught it. "Do it!"

Lexi threw the bomb towards the hole but Magnus jumped towards it and caught it, falling on the other side with the bomb in his hand. Lexi sighed and went towards him and crouched then she started to squeeze his neck with her leg. "Drop it, or we'll all die over here."

Magnus coughed and tried to free himself with his other hand. "Do you think I care?!"

Ace stood up with struggle and prepared his laser vision. "Lexi! Don't move." He shot right at Magnus' hand and made him to scream and undo his grasp instantly, the bomb rolled across the branch covered ground as its beeps became less intermittent each second, it rolled onto the hole and began to fall towards the bottom, where the hyperseed was, it collided over the blue lighted surface and exploded instantly, sending a thick beam upwards and destroying the dome along with the trunk's middle.

"No!" Magnus cried out, then Lexi freed him before standing up after noticing the trunk was collapsing.

"We need to get out of here!" Lexi exclaimed.

"Take the big guy; we'll meet…" Ace was interrupted by the sudden fall of the dome; he got trapped in a group of broken branches.

Lexi had reacted soon enough to exit the structure instinctively with the help of her jetpack through an open space. She was now hovering safely in front of the falling trunk. "Ace!" She gasped and tried to fly towards what had remained of the dome that was aggressively falling down but couldn't reach it as the structure sunk inside a great hole that the bomb had created. She landed before the massive crater and the great cloud of dust. "Ace!" She yelled then Tech and the rest of the team landed next to her with their jetpacks.

"It's done, look!" Tech pointed at their surroundings to show the buildings getting free from the branches' as they dissolved.

"You really did it not that I doubted about your capacities but still that was pretty impressive!" Rev got next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lexi?"

Lexi looked at them. "He is down there, with Magnus." She pointed at the crater.

"Oh, great! Let him deal with it; he is a good fighter after all." Duck said. "The job is done, isn't it?"

Slam growled at him with reproach.

Duck sighed. "Fine, we'll help him."

Lexi flew down to the fallen, destroyed structure followed by the others. "I can't find a way in."

"In that case." Tech started to shoot his weapon towards the layers of branches of the fallen structure. "We shall make one." The others followed Tech's action and started to shoot on the same spot of the surface Tech was destroying.

Ace opened his eyes wildly at finding himself trapped inside branch rubble, only a few rays of light could enter the place, he stood up and rubbed his head then began to walk carefully with his sight examining his surroundings to try to find a way out, he could only think about if Magnus managed to survive, thought that was later answered by a sudden punch Ace received on the back of his head, he gasped and fell over his back. Magnus was standing in front of him, frowning and ready to strike again, Ace noticed one of his gloves had a gap that exposed burned skin and fur, product of his previous attack. "Don't you see it?" Ace dragged himself back. "You've lost."

"I know." Magnus replied. "Now I got nothing else to pursue but payback!" He yelled and tried to throw a punch at Ace.

Ace gasped and tilted to dodge Magnus' fist which hit the ground strongly. He stood up quickly and readied his laser vision as an intent to intimidate Magnus.

"You feel strong, powerful, invincible." Magnus stated. "But you aren't brave enough to fight without your gift, are you?!"

Ace growled and his eyes went back to normal. He clenched his fists and got in attack position. "If that's what you want, then you shall have it."

Magnus snarled fiercely and ran towards Ace before throwing a kick, Ace jumped over him and landed safely on the other side then rapidly approached Magnus and kicked his head. "Are you done warming up?!" Ace joked.

Magnus turned and grabbed Ace's leg then smashed him to the ground. "Are you done being impertinent?"

Ace groaned. "Never." He freed himself from Magnus' grasp and kicked his snout, Magnus frowned and covered his bleeding nose while Ace got into his feet once again then dodged a punch by crouching and kicked his leg, making him to kneel down, Ace didn't hesitate to throw a strong punch at his face, Magnus resisted and answered with another punch that threw Ace a little bit backwards, Magnus stood up and punched Ace again, this time managing to send him to the ground.

"Where is your heroism now!" Magnus started to punch his face repeatedly. "It faded away! Like your life is doing right now!"

Ace's focus attenuated with each hit, every sound started to mute as he felt the pain of his bleeding snout, he had almost given up, but he used the strength he had left to stop Magnus' fists on their way with both hands, Magnus leaned forward to try to weaken Ace's hold, he growled at him desperately, then Ace took the chance to hit his forehead unmercifully with his, Magnus' scream invaded the place's echo before he fell down in front of Ace unconscious.

Ace laid below the tall layers of rubble, glancing upwards, a peaceful darkness that gave him a sense of victory, suddenly interrupted by an aperture that brought light once again. "Ace! Ace talk to me!" The echoing voice of Lexi was barely caught by his ears which also managed to hear the far voices of his other comrades, speaking with astonishment and a slight tone of relief.

The light of the infirmary made Ace's tired eyelids to open, he gasped slightly then moved backwards and noticed that Lexi was sitting next to the bed on a stool, holding his hand with a face of emotion. "Morning."

Ace smiled. "Hi." He looked around as if he was looking for something, then he glanced back at her. "Magnus?"

"In prison." Lexi replied. "The city is back to normal, you can relax."

"Not without a cost." Ace rubbed his muzzle. "That's for sure."

Lexi giggled. "Sometimes you are so whining."

"Oh and this bed couldn't be more uncomfortable and my gown is kinda itchy by the way." Ace replied.

Lexi punched his arm gently. "Stop it already."

Ace smirked and placed both hands on her face then leaned his forehead on hers. "I couldn't have done this without you." He mumbled.

"We are a team, Ace, never forget that." Lexi replied.

Susan was in the lab packing her stuff on a backpack then Tech opened the door and entered. "So, you'll return to Alumia." He asked as he walked towards her.

Susan chuckled. "One would think that but maybe I've been far from home time enough." She zipped the backpack and turned to look at him.

"Home? Then, you actually live elsewhere?" Tech asked.

"I'll just say I found a quite comfortable place here in Acmetropolis, it was just about time." Susan wrapped her arms around his neck.

Tech smiled. "Or it was just about me." He placed both hands on her waist.

"What would make you think that?" Susan leaned forward and gave him a brief kiss.

"Well, that could be a valid proof." Tech said.

"And what do you think?" Susan inquired.

Tech embraced her and started to kiss her then broke the hug. "My life just got better, Susan." They both hugged each other again and continued kissing.

"Alright morons, eat fast as we don't have your precious, valuable time!" A male, German shepherd who wore a black, police uniform exclaimed as a group of convicts sat down on the benches of the prison's dinning room. On one of the benches, Magnus Maxfield was sitting while eating his food, completely alone, the other convicts seemed to fear him as they had heard what he was capable of, but a brave, male fox took the chance to meet the new guy. "Magnus, aren't you?"

Magnus lowered down his fork and nodded at the fox. "Need something?"

The fox sat down in front of him and began to eat his own food. "Have you tasted the pudding? Pretty neat to be made for misfits like us, one of the pair of things I don't hate of this place."

"Spit it out, fox, what do you want from me." Magnus tone went more aggressive.

"Sure." The fox cleaned a bit of food from his snout with a napkin. "Does the word, Loonatics mean something to you?"

Magnus bent the fork he had been holding as he clenched his fist with rage. "Those morons got me here and messed up all my plans, my hopes!"

The fox nodded with a grin. "It seems you and I have already a lot in common then." He extended his hand. "Quentin Quintana, nice to meet you."

Magnus frowned for a second then shook his hand cautiously. "Magnus Maxfield."

"We have a lot of work to do, Magnus." Quentin stated.


	25. Episode 25: Blurring Delirium

Loonatics: United

Episode 25: Blurring Delirium

The Loonatics were hanging out in the mall, yet using their suits like always to be prepared for anything, Ace had gone with Lexi to accompany her while she did her shopping, Tech and Rev were in the electronics shop while Duck was just walking by the stores and Slam was in the gastronomic zone of the mall. "What do you think about this?" Lexi showed Ace a pink dress as she held it in front of him.

"Uhm, yeah, if you like it." Ace felt somewhat uncomfortable at being at a shop of women's clothes.

"Ace, I need your opinion." Lexi insisted.

Ace sighed, then tried to do his best to review the dress. "Well, maybe those little white dots are a bit too much."

Lexi shook her head. "Clearly you don't know anything about fashion, I think I'll bring this home."

Ace raised his eyebrow. "But you asked for an opinion."

"And I have discovered that yours doesn't count when it's about this kind of stuff." Lexi went to the checkout counter to pay for the clothes she was willing to buy.

"I'll wait for you outside." Ace said and left the shop then sat down on a bench that faced the place. He liked to spend time with Lexi even if it meant hours of shopping and pain on his feet, that sense of normality made him hopeful.

Lexi got out of the shop with a couple of bags full of new clothes. "Okay, now is your turn."

Ace stood up from the bench as he smirked at her. "My turn? I am not the fashion-type, you know." They just started to walk. "Besides, I don't get to use, normal clothes that much." He looked at her. "Now that I think about it, neither do you."

"What do you mean?" Lexi asked.

"Come on, we are trapped in this suits forever, not that I complain I mean it's a pleasure to save the city and all but it was a long time ago when I realized we are not destined to a normal, civilian life." Ace responded.

Lexi thought her answer for a moment. "I actually have lots of clothes with the tag still on them in my closet, kind of sad, isn't it?"

"No, I mean you actually help me a lot with that." Ace said.

"By buying clothes?" Lexi inquired.

Ace sighed, then nodded. "I like to see someone in the team who still manages to do normal people stuff."

Lexi smiled at the comment. "You know what? We'll check some stuff for you, what do you think?"

"Really? Because I saw a neat holo-soccer jersey of the Acmetropolis Forgers back on the sports store." Ace responded.

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Oh my…are you?" She let out a sigh. "Alright, just let me be the judge, okay?"

Ace chuckled. "Sure, why not."

Meanwhile, Tech and Rev were discussing about a product on the electronics store. "Trust me, Rev! This is a game changer!" Tech said as he held the box with the device.

"But don't you forget it is known data that this company often makes mistakes with the ventilation system remember that case of the poor family's home." Rev argued.

"It was just a slight incident, the only one registered by the way." Tech replied.

"Oh come on…" Rev received a transmission from Duck.

"Guys, you gotta see this, some kind of mad woman is doing, weird stuff, I'm next to the car agency." Duck warned to the team through his comm.

Ace was about to try on the jersey on the sports shop. "Duty calls." He hung it back and hurried towards Duck's location followed by Lexi.

Tech and Rev were near of the zone already, so they just got out of the electronics shop and met with Duck. "Who the heck is she?" Tech asked.

"Oh like if I knew man!" Duck argued.

Ace, Lexi and Slam arrived with them, a female fox was floating above the floor a few meters in front of them, all that could be seen of her was her silhouette, black like a shadow, her white eyes and her long fleck covering half of her face and a black cloud behind her. The crowd that tried to run away was thrown suddenly to the floor by a gesture the mysterious woman did, they started to scream and shake over the floor.

Tech used his powers and attracted several metallic benches and trash cans of the shopping mall to his front then threw them towards the fox, the woman didn't show any visible reaction but the metallic objects he had thrown at her collided with an invisible barrier that protected her.

Rev tried to break the barrier by running at full speed towards it with his fist clenched, he clashed onto it then fell on his back groaning.

Slam tried to get to the woman from the sides but he found out that the barrier surrounded her completely as his punches couldn't get through.

Duck had been throwing orbs with no rest at the barrier; the fox saw him and frowned then threw an invisible impulse at Duck with a thought, making him to gasp and end in the floor.

Ace ran towards the floating woman and shot his laser vision at her but the barrier blocked the attack, the woman laughed and made Ace to kneel down before her with a gesture. "You are no rival for me." The woman said with an echoing voice and made Ace to lay over the floor, she focused her gaze on him then he started to scream in agony all of a sudden, he moved like if he was having a seizure and tried to cover his ears but he still couldn't control whatever was happening to him.

Lexi tried to attack her with a brain blast, but it didn't have any effect on her. "Why do they have to be weirder each time?!"

The woman laughed with mockery. "You may call me Mourn, your doom and fall." Mourn waved her hands downwards and a dark purple wave hit them and sent them to the ground.

Lexi groaned then quickly dragged herself towards Ace who was still under the effects of the previous attack. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he gasped as if she had scared him. "Ace, Ace I'm here, it's me, don't worry." She helped him to stand up as he was still screaming and shaking repeatedly, she had got into her feet while she prevented Ace to fall by carrying his arm over her shoulders. "Tech! He is very bad." She approached the team that had already recovered.

"Then we must retreat." Tech replied.

Rev got before them rapidly. "What about the floating gal?" He pointed at the place where Mourn had appeared, there was no sign of her. "Uhm, where is she by the way?"

"Better not to know now, come on, back to the HQ!" Lexi commanded and they flew out of the mall with their jetpacks, she was carrying Ace on her way to the HQ.

Ace laid over the lab's large table, trembling and breathing rapidly with cables connected to his suit, sending signals of his state to a screen that showed the diagnosis. "His mind is, disturbed, Lexi, I have tried many formulas to stabilize him but nothing seems to work." Tech said.

"What is exactly happening to him?" Lexi asked as she looked at Ace with worry.

"It is hard to explain, but by seeing this diagnosis I could say his troubled mind is caused by constant panic attacks." Tech stated.

Lexi sighed. "Maybe there is another solution; we need him back."

Tech scratched his chin. "Well, in theory, your brain blast could bring him back, the complexity of its waves shall stabilize his uneasy thoughts, but is just a hypothesis."

"Yeah, and that shall fry his brain too." Lexi argued.

Tech shook his head. "Not with a modulator."

"Modulator?" Lexi raised an eyebrow.

"A helmet, connected to an inner system of energy storing panels that will contain the quantity of waves we don't need." Tech explained. "There is no risk at all."

Lexi nodded. "I'll do anything for him, just promise me this helmet won't ruin my hair."

Darkness, sounds of emptiness and uncertainty, Ace couldn't guess where he could possibly be, maybe it was a dream or a nightmare, maybe something else. "Hello?!" Ace yelled, his voice echoed on the dark, empty space he was in. "Lexi?" He struggled to recognize who was the person ahead of him that was laying on the reflecting, non-existent floor. He walked towards who he thought was Lexi laying over her side, he recognized her ears and bodysuit, he leaned closer to her and patted her shoulder confidently, there was no reaction. "Lexi?" He moved her slightly to see her better, he gasped with fright when he saw her halted eyes, the pallid color of her face's fur and blood coming out of her opened snout. He kneeled down next to her with pain and disbelief in his eyes and got her closer to him with both arms, he hugged her and started to cry with unrest. "I'm sorry, love." He began to cry out louder. "I'm so sorry."

"Ace." The blood stopped coming out from her snout all of a sudden, her eyes showed light again, a shine came from behind her, Ace's perspective changed and he felt the steel of the lab's table, as soon as he noticed it had been all an illusion he leaned forward and embraced her strongly, crying with happiness. Lexi tried to reassure him. "You are back, Ace, I'm here with you, don't worry." She looked at Tech with concern, the same look he had on his face.

A/N: Hello! I don't tend to write notes at the end of the stories but this time I just felt the need to do so. I want to thank all of you for your persistent support to this saga, which I decided to write because of my love for the show and its characters and I'm glad to know that it still has a present fanbase. As many of you may have noticed, I usually post a new chapter every Saturday, it's been that way pretty much since I started the saga and that's the whole point of this note, these last weeks I haven't had enough time to work on the future chapters of the story because of some projects I've been focused more in, so it will be difficult for me to provide updates to the story in the regular lapse, but that doesn't mean I won't be updating the story anymore, just less regularly, that's all and I will try to update it at least once a month, there are lots of new villains and arcs that I can't wait for you to know! So guys, thanks again for everything and I'll see you on the next chapter, where things will get even weirder with this mysterious entity. See you soon!

Also, I would like to know who is your favorite character from the original show, mine is Tech, with no doubt.


	26. Episode 26: Dicey Recoil

Loonatics: United

Episode 26: Dicey Recoil

The moon had already got over Acmetropolis. "She was laying over that strange surface, her face was, lifeless and I thought she was gone forever." Ace explained to Tech and Lexi while he was sitting in front of them on a metallic bench inside the lab.

Tech was writing down the info Ace was giving to them. "Would you call it, a nightmare?"

Ace shook his head. "Anyone would prefer to have a nightmare instead of that."

"Well, now you are back with us." Lexi said.

"Yeah." Ace looked at her. "Thanks."

"The credit is all on him." Lexi patted Tech on the back.

Ace nodded at him. "How did you manage to take me out of that place?"

"Well, it was fairly easy to find a solution as your condition was entirely related to your mind and its waves, I designed this helmet to help Lexi stabilize your thoughts with her power." Tech took the helmet from a nearby table and showed it to Ace.

"Great to know it didn't fry my brain." Ace said.

Tech smirked. "Another one of the benefits of this baby."

"How's the rest?" Ace asked.

"They're fine, you were the one who got us pretty worried." Lexi replied.

Ace stood up from the bench. "Any reports of this, new maniac?"

"The Eye hasn't reached us yet, but I gathered some interesting ones from Acmetropolis' General Hospital." Tech stated after putting the helmet back on the table and taking out his digital notepad.

Ace nodded. "The people at the mall?"

"All of them were diagnosed with the same state as you, unstable brain activity, seizures and data that relates to panic attacks." Tech responded.

"We must help them." Lexi proposed.

"Sure, I'll ready the helmet." Tech said.

"No." Ace commanded.

They both looked at him. "Sorry?" Lexi asked.

Ace took a step towards them. "You are not going there." He took Lexi's arms gently. "Stay."

Lexi looked at him with disbelief. "Ace, we can make them feel better, we must go, I mean you lived it."

"Yes, Ace, we must…" Tech was interrupted.

"It is an order." Ace said. "Am I clear?" He looked at Tech with eyes of warning.

Tech lowered his head. "Yes, boss."

"Good." Ace sighed and exited the lab.

Lexi looked at Tech. "What now?"

"Orders are orders; I suppose." Tech shook his head and walked towards his working station.

"I'll talk to him." Lexi said.

"Sure, in the meantime I will use the info that the receiver got from when we saved Ace from that collapse, maybe I can use this data to build us weapons just in case she comes back." Tech sat down in front of the station's computer.

"While those people keep suffering." Lexi began to walk towards the exit.

"Lexi?" Tech said as he had his sight focused on the computer's screen.

"Yeah?" She looked at Tech over her shoulder.

"Keep an eye on him, would you?" Tech requested.

Lexi nodded. "Of course."

"Thanks." Tech said.

Ace had gone to the kitchen, he was searching for something that could calm his thirst in the fridge, he found a sport drink and grabbed it then he closed the fridge's door. He walked towards the dining table and sat down before it, he opened the bottle and took a sip of the drink he had taken. Suddenly, the kitchen's automatic door opened and let Lexi enter, she walked towards the table and sat down in front of him. "Rough day, huh?"

"You've said it." Ace took another sip of his drink.

Lexi's gaze went to the window. "So, why?"

Ace raised an eyebrow and put the bottle back over the table. "Why what?"

"Why aren't you willing to help those people?" Lexi asked.

Ace sighed. "I know you are worried about them and that they need help but believe me, there are more important things to attend right now." He raised a hand and caressed her face. "Do you trust me?"

"I do, Ace." Lexi put her hand over his. "I just don't know why we can't just help them right away."

"Please, don't worry about that." Ace said. "You two will cure them when the time comes, I promise, but right now we must focus on bringing that woman down so she can't hurt more people, do you get me?"

Lexi looked at him with doubt on her eyes. "I…think so."

"That's my girl." Ace got his hand off her face and smirked. "Everything is fine."

Lexi forced a smile. "Sure." She tried to leave the table, but Ace had taken her hand to stop her.

"Say it." Ace said. "Everything…"

Lexi let out an almost silent, nervous chuckle. "Everything is fine."

Ace let go off her hand. "That's right." Lexi started to walk away from him as she gazed him with occasional looks of concern.

In the meantime, Tech was finishing printing the weapons he had planned to make against Mourn. "Come with daddy." He took one of the six bracelets from the chamber of the 3D printer and put it around his wrist. He walked towards the lab's main workstation and readied an antenna he had connected to it via USB, then he pressed a key on the machine's console to start a software which displayed several graphics on the screen above it, he backed away a little bit from the desktop and pointed his wrist towards the antenna, then he pressed a small button on the bracelet and the antenna began to tremble slightly, Tech turned his gaze towards the graphics on the screen which only had changed a little bit. He sighed and took off the bracelet then sat down in front of the workstation's desktop and lowered his gaze, scratching his head with disappointment. Suddenly, he just looked at the front as if he'd had an idea.

Lexi had gone to the lounge, then she sat down on the couch that faced the TV. "My condolences." Duck said as he continuously changed the channels with the remote.

Lexi gave him a serious look. "He is fine, Duck."

Duck nodded. "Exactly."

"Duck, he was like, very bad I mean, we don't know what could've happened if Tech hadn't come up with a solution." Lexi said.

"Relax, I am just kidding, I'm glad he is okay." Duck replied.

"Well, maybe not that okay." Lexi said.

Duck raised an eyebrow after he had finally found a decent TV show. "Why is that?"

"Since we took him out of whatever was affecting him, he's been acting a little, off." Lexi responded.

Before Duck could reply her, the TV displayed a text of alarm and began to emit intermittent beeps. "Oh you gotta be kidding me, the Stadium! Now?!"

"Look at the video feed, it's her!" Lexi pointed at the screen.

Rev had got behind them after a rush. "Hey, Ms. Weird is doing her weird things with her weird abilities!"

Slam arrived after having heard the noise of the TV's alarm and growled at seeing Mourn attacking people on the video feed.

"Guys, I got good news and bad news." Tech caught up with them, holding the bracelets he had built.

"Bad news first." Duck asked.

"No can do, good news are the context." Tech replied.

"But it's always better when someone gives the bad news first because then…" Rev got interrupted.

"What is it?" Ace said as he arrived to the lounge.

"The good news is that I managed to create these powerful devices that should be able to confront Mourn's powers with their wave system." Tech sighed. "But they'll only work if Lexi charges them continuously."

Lexi nodded. "No problem."

"Wait." Ace said. "She can charge them here and stay with me doing some surveillance while the rest of you go there and beat Mourn."

Tech raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, but we'll go with only one load each."

"Isn't that enough?" Ace asked.

"No, excuse me but I think Lexi must come with us, you must come with us too." Tech replied.

"But someone has to stay here, we don't know if she is the only one, there could be more than her." Ace stated.

"Why are you suddenly coming to that supposition? We fight what we see, Ace, that's our style, more specifically your style." Tech pointed at him.

"Well, who's the leader?" Ace said.

Tech snarled subtly. "You are."

"Thanks, now, charge those bracelets, Lexi." Ace commanded.

Lexi nodded and carefully shot her brain blast towards the six bracelets Tech was holding, which began to glow pink after Lexi's action. She then looked at Ace. "It's done, but I think Tech is right, we should…"

Ace interrupted her. "You stay, I need help with the surveillance, the rest of you, go to the stadium and stop that woman."

Tech growled. "Okay guys, put on these." The team approached him and put on the charged bracelets; Ace was the last one to pick his.

Slam opened the windows by pressing a button that was next to the kitchen, Duck and Rev shared looks of confusion then they flew away with their jetpacks towards the situation followed by Slam.

"Go, Tech, you are in charge in this mission." Ace said.

"Ace, you know is risky going out there like this, please, come with us, both of you." Tech requested.

Ace walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine, Doc, there's no success without…"

"Risk, yeah I taught you that." Tech said with a frown, then he just turned. He activated his jetpack and headed towards the stadium, leaving Ace and Lexi alone in the HQ's lounge.


	27. Episode 27: Essentially Functional

Loonatics: United

Episode 27: Essentially Functional

Lexi was looking through the lounge's windows, worried for her friends, her gaze was focused on the stadium that could be seen from practically every spot on the city. She felt a stroke on her shoulder and looked over it; Ace had got behind her. "You are worried for them." He said.

"Why wouldn't I?" Lexi replied, she looked at him and felt uneasy at his careless smile.

"They'll be fine, we both know them well." Ace caressed her arm. "Some TV shall help, come on." He walked towards the couch and sat on it then took the remote and turned on the television.

"Ace." Lexi sighed as she sat down next to him. "We are a team, you and I should be there, helping our friends."

"They can handle it." Ace replied while he changed the channels with the remote.

Lexi snatched the remote from him and turned off the TV, making Ace to look at her with unsettlement. "Listen to me, you've been acting very weird since that woman attacked you, maybe you are still under the effects of her powers."

"That's ridiculous." Ace crossed his arms.

"I mean, you gave Tech the excuse that we were going to stay here to surveil but all of a sudden you just want to chill like if nothing is happening." Lexi said.

"I am waiting, Lexi, if an alarm sounds then you and I will attend the trouble." Ace responded.

"Ace, if you don't want to go there at least let me do so." Lexi requested. "Then Tech and I will help you with whatever is going on with you."

"Why do you mention him that much?" Ace asked with a frown.

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind." Ace leaned closer to her. "This is our moment." He tried to give her a kiss, but she moved away from him and stood up from the couch.

"Ace, this isn't you." Lexi said.

"Okay." Ace got into his feet. "You want to see that I care?!" He walked past her. "I'll go check the news on the lab's computer, are you happy?! I am helping, like I always do!"

Lexi watched him leave. "I want you back." She mumbled before letting go a sigh.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was arriving to the stadium. Tech landed over the roof followed by the others. He turned off his jetpack and walked towards the edge of the roof to get a better look of the situation. "She is on the field, doing the same thing she did back at the mall, you got your bracelets ready?" Tech looked at them and they replied with a nod. "Alright, this is the plan, Rev will distract her while the rest of us find a way to sneak into the field without her noticing, then we all attack, remember, we must aim the bracelets towards the same spot to magnify their effectiveness, as we only have one load each."

Duck raised his hand. "Can I say something?"

"Sure." Tech said.

"Would this have been easier if Ace wasn't acting like a total jerk?" Duck asked.

"Certainly." Tech responded.

"Thanks, I just wanted to ensure I wasn't the only one who thinks that about the great boss." Duck stated.

"We'll deal with that later, Duck, now we have to follow orders and end with this mess." Tech commanded. "Rev."

Rev turned on his bracelet. "What will I do if she does her mind tricks with me? My mind isn't as stable as you may believe and that would be like, very bad, you know."

"Don't worry, I forgot to tell you I installed isolators on the bracelets, they'll impede her waves to reach yours." Tech explained. "It is late for Ace now, but you shall not have any kind of trouble with that." He briefly studied the complex with his sight. "Go now, Rev, and stick to the plan, we'll catch up with you."

Rev nodded and headed towards the field by running through the stands of the stadium. He got in front of Mourn in a split of second, she was floating over the center of the holographic surface, with a beating purple cloud behind her and her white eyes gazing at the sky. Rev noticed that the crowd on the stands was trembling and groaning on the ground while Mourn had both of her arms raised. "Hey monster! Why don't you mess with someone of your size?! Technically I am smaller than you but it sounds cool enough to get your attention!" Rev exclaimed.

Mourn lowered her gaze towards him and made up an evil grin. "Fool hero, you dare to challenge me once again." She tilted her head slightly, then raised an eyebrow at noticing she hadn't made any effect on Rev. "What?" She closed her eyes a little bit and tried harder, but she still couldn't attack him.

"Seems you've run out of tricks, uhm, Squeak, isn't it?" Rev joked.

Mourn growled. "You know well who I am, my name causes fear to anyone that hears it!"

"I know, I know, I just…" Rev got hit suddenly by a purple wave Mourn had thrown towards him with a gesture. He collided with a wall then fell to the ground. Rev coughed and got into his feet slowly. "That didn't hurt at all; I let you do it just because I needed to distract you." He ran fast towards the other end of the field. "So we can all ruin your party, not in a literal way as you may suspect." Rev had got next to his comrades, who had their fists pointing at her.

Tech looked at him with a smirk. "I told you we would catch up!"

"That was quick! And coming from me that should be considered a great compliment." Rev replied. "Now what, Doc?"

Mourn groaned and tried the same thing she had tried with Rev, finding out they were also immune to her mind powers. "You asked for tricks! Take your tricks!" She backed her arm as if she was going to throw another attack.

"Now!" Tech commanded, they all activated their bracelets and began to shoot the invisible waves towards her, she immediately started to scream and the purple cloud she had behind her started to fade away.

Slam growled with excitement.

"Of course it's working, keep it up guys!" Tech said.

"How long will this take? The soap opera is about to start!" Duck asked.

Tech let out a sigh of effort. "Until she is totally neutralized." Mourn's purple cloud started to gain color again. "Oh no."

"My bracelet doesn't glow anymore!" Rev said.

"We are running out of Lexi's charge, get closer to her!" Tech commanded then took a few steps towards Mourn along with his team.

Mourn yelled like if she was going through great suffering. "You…don't know her!" She stopped floating and fell down, getting over her knees, she looked at Tech and her face opened, showing another face on what it looked like the inside of her head, this face looked younger, the face of a troubled, orange furred female fox that pleaded for a way out, Tech could notice that on her purple eyes, she was inside that monster.

"Mine is dead too!" Duck complained and shook his arm to see if he could reactivate the bracelet, with no results.

Mourn's face rejoined in one piece again and the purple cloud helped her to float over the center of the field. She grinned and laughed then threw another purple wave towards them, it hit them strongly and sent them towards a wall which broke in several pieces with the impact. They fell to the blue, holographic ground between groans and rubble. Duck managed to stand up first after a painful effort and started to walk towards her. "Because of you, I've lost precious minutes of my favorite TV program!" He exclaimed and started to cook a fire orb over the palm of his hand.

Tech rested his back on a piece of concrete and checked his bracelet, which had already ran out of power; he glanced at the wrists of his comrades and noticed the same thing had happened to their devices, Rev and Slam were struggling to get out of the rubble. He then looked at Duck, who was getting close to Mourn. "Duck! Wait!"

"I say, it's enough!" Duck threw the orb towards her, but it exploded on the unseeable barrier, leaving Mourn untouched.

Mourn put her hands together then separated them around a big, purple sphere which she threw towards Duck, he tried to evade it but Mourn managed to hit his leg. "I decide when it's enough!"

Duck fell down and groaned with pain while rubbing his leg as the smoke of the sphere dissipated. "Maybe you are right." He turned his gaze towards the others who were standing in front of the broken wall, looking at Mourn.

"Team, I guess we've lost for today." Tech stated.

"Two in a row, that wouldn't be good for my hero curriculum, if it existed of course." Rev said.

Tech walked carefully towards Duck and helped him to stand up. "Duck, take us out of here." Rev and Slam approached them and placed a hand over Duck's back.

"Not without a fee gu..." Duck groaned again. "Maybe this is no time for my likeable sense of humor." He visualized the HQ and began to teleport himself and the others.

Lexi was laying over the lounge's couch, thinking about the issues with Ace, then Duck appeared all of a sudden after a brief shine of orange light along with the rest of the Loonatics. "Guys?" Lexi stood up quickly. "What happened?"

Tech shook his head. "We ran out of chances."

Lexi noticed he was helping Duck to stand. "Is he alright?"

"Oh yeah, Lexi, I have never been so well in my entire life, my broken leg is like a day in paradise…" Duck got interrupted.

"I get it! Duck!" Lexi responded with a straight face.

"I'll take him to the infirmary." Tech said.

Rev looked at the stadium through the window, which now had a big, purple sphere over it. "She is moving fast with whatever plan she has."

"We'll resolve that matter later." Ace said as he arrived at the lounge. "How was the mission? Doc?"

Tech snarled and got right in front of him while still helping Duck to walk. "Nothing to report except complete failure, boss, that's how it went, and it's all on you." He put his index finger on his chest.

"Watch your tone." Ace warned.

Tech's eyes widened. "Tone! I'm just sick of you, Ace, Duck is hurt and all those people are out there, suffering under that woman's tortures! And you talk about tones! It's your fault, Ace! Those minds are on your conscience."

"Well, if I had known I would've put Rev in charge instead!" Ace exclaimed.

Rev quickly turned his gaze towards them after hearing Ace's statement. "I wouldn't object that, but on the other hand, leadership is known to be tough and full of…"

"Shut up, Rev!" Both Ace and Tech demanded.

Ace sighed. "Tech, I don't have time for this nonsense, just take Duck to the infirmary and we'll discuss this later." Tech gave him a look of anger, then he growled and helped Duck with his steps.

"Later, always later." Tech mumbled after walking by his boss.

Ace waited for them to get out of his sight, then he looked at his other friends, who were looking at him like if he was another person. "Another complaint?"

Rev and Slam just shook their heads and went to their respective rooms, Lexi waited for them to close the doors. She looked at Ace and walked towards him. "That is new."

"I guess Tech can have his temper sometimes." Ace said.

Lexi shook her head. "I wasn't talking about him."

Ace frowned. "You too!"

Lexi took a step backwards. "Easy, that's exactly my point, Tech should take a look…"

"I'm fine! Lexi! It is all of you who drive me crazy sometimes!" Ace turned and walked towards his room, smashing the door with notorious discontent after getting in.

Lexi sighed and went to her own, she rested her back on the door after closing it then she sat down on the floor. "What did you do to my Ace?" She could only think about Mourn and the seizures she had caused to her loved one back at the mall.


	28. Episode 28: Abrupt Fierceness

Loonatics: United

Episode 28: Abrupt Fierceness

In the next day's morning, Tech had woken up early and was taking some notes on his digital notepad while in the kitchen. Suddenly, Lexi joined him as she entered and rested her back on a wall nearby the door. "Thanks for ruining my beauty sleep, Doc." Lexi stated.

"Why is that?" Tech replied, with his gaze totally engaged to the screen of his gadget.

Lexi chuckled. "Super audition and your footsteps aren´t what I would call, silent."

"Oh, sorry." Tech scrolled down the screen of the device to keep writing with the tip of his finger.

Lexi raised an eyebrow and walked towards him. "What are you doing?"

"I´m making a plan, Lexi, I won´t let her hurt more people." Tech responded.

"Have you asked Ace first?" Lexi inquired.

Tech looked at her. "No, and I won't, he is not himself, I am afraid we must deal with this without the boss."

"Good." Lexi said while lowering her head.

"Is something wrong with that?" Tech asked.

"It´s just that, he has always taken the lead, but I know he's changed, and all I want to do right now is to help him out." Lexi replied.

"And we will, don't worry, as soon as we take Mourn down, Ace's wellbeing will be my top priority." Tech said with a reassuring tone.

Lexi nodded and gave him a grateful gaze. "Thank you."

Tech smirked and looked back at his notepad. "Well, I guess we got a draft." He walked towards the door and half opened it, then looked at Lexi. "Come on, we must see Duck."

Lexi followed him as he opened the door completely, they got out of the kitchen and headed cautiously towards the lab. "What is he going to do?" She asked with a mumble.

"He'll stay here to ensure Ace doesn't find out our plan." Tech answered as the lab's doors opened before them, they entered and walked towards the infirmary.

"I've never done anything behind his back." Lexi said as Tech knocked the room's window, waking Duck up.

"He let us no choice, all I'm asking you to do is to be strong, that should come in handy when we confront her." Tech put his hand on her shoulder.

Lexi sighed. "I'll try." She and Tech looked at Duck through the infirmary's window as he had stood up from the bed. He exited from the room and approached them.

"Feeling better?" Tech asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt horribly like it did before, now it just hurts terribly." Duck replied.

"Good, I'll call Rev and Slam." Tech said then walked towards the lab's main door and exited to the lounge.

"What is he into?" Duck crossed his arms.

"A plan to stop Mourn, only without Ace." Lexi explained.

"Good news, finally, I can't stand that dude ultimately." Duck walked past her and headed to the lab's central desk to sit down in front of it.

Lexi followed him. "Is not his fault." She got over the chair that was next to Duck´s. "She is the cause, that is why he's been so..."

"Illogical? Stubborn?" Duck interrupted.

"Yes, Duck, but that is exactly why you can't blame him." Lexi responded. "The best we can do now is to support him."

Duck chuckled. "Lying to him is a good start; I guess."

"It´s not lying, he is not well and we can't take any chances, and besides, I thought you were okay with that." Lexi argued.

"I know, but it's still kind of weird to do things under the table, to be honest." Duck replied.

Lexi sighed. "Do you think is easy for me? Trust has always been important between us, even since before we were together."

Rev showed up after a brief, red light behind his race, he appeared sitting in front of them all of a sudden. "Tech said he had a surprise for us, so I just want to know, is it expensive, fun, both? Will it replace my birthday present? Because it's pretty close and I would hate to lose it."

Tech arrived to the lab accompanied by Slam. "No Rev, it's a quite different type of surprise."

Slam looked at him as he growled with intrigue.

"No, is not edible either." Tech replied, and Slam just lowered his gaze. "We don't have too much time, guys, so I'll start from the middle, if you don't mind."

"Do what you want, I tend to get asleep from the beginning anyway." Duck said.

Tech connected his digital notepad to a port that was on a corner of the table, then a diagram appeared in front of them in holographic form. "So, you all might know Acmetropolis is powered up thanks to the high capacity magnifiers that interconnect the electrical grid." He said, then the others just shared confused looks at his statement, which made him to let out a sigh. "Of course not, well, now that you know, I'm glad to tell you that the stadium is surrounded by four of those magnifiers, which are located on the adjacent buildings that corner the complex."

"And?" Duck asked.

"The appropriate mind can manage to turn those magnifiers into a wave field." Tech pointed at himself. "Just to be clear, I am that appropriate mind."

"You can't resist to be cocky, can you?" Lexi said with a smirk.

"Whatever, the thing is that this is a work of five; someone has to retain the signals of the magnifiers to create the field and get Mourn trapped, just to make time to find a fatal solution." Tech explained.

Duck looked at his comrades and counted with his fingers. "Uhm, appropriate mind, we are five here." He told Tech.

"You won't go with us." Tech said.

"What? Why?" Duck crossed his arms and frowned.

Tech rolled up his eyes. "How´s your leg?"

Duck hesitated briefly to give an answer. "Well, it's not good good, but I can han..." Lexi hit his leg quite hard with her foot under the table, which made Duck to gasp. "Okay, I'll stay."

"Good, and don't worry, you'll do something too, something of crucial importance." Tech said. "You'll be covering us."

Duck´s eyes widened. "Oh, like with some kind of long-range sniper, so you don't have to deal with unwanted company?"

"No, you'll have to watch over Ace and make sure he doesn't discover us." Tech replied.

"But wouldn't it be easier if we just, you know, knock him out temporarily? I could do that." Duck proposed.

"There is no need for more damages, just keep him distracted, okay?" Tech requested.

Duck nodded hesitantly. "Sure."

Tech nodded then approached a pad over the table and used it to zoom in the projected diagram, then pointed at the drawing he wanted them to focus on. "That being clarified, Jack will supply Duck on the task."

"Jack? Like, your pet hijacker worm? Is it still a thing?" Rev asked.

"He is up and running, Rev, fully upgraded." Tech answered.

"Replaced by a worm, kind of sad." Duck stated.

"Jack will serve as the retainer, I'll only need someone to activate him and send him to fly over the stadium, where the signals will intersect." Tech looked at Lexi. "Could you do it, Lexi?"

Lexi nodded. "As long as you promise me it doesn't bite."

"Very well, then." Tech slid his hand on the pad to move the hologram in order to show them the drawings of the buildings he had mentioned. "Each one of us will take care of a magnifier, they are usually located on the rooftops, so it shouldn't be hard to find them."

"I guess you've made extremely intuitive devices to do all the technical work for us." Rev said.

Tech shook his head. "These things can only be manipulated manually, but don't worry, I'll be guiding you from my comm." He looked at Lexi once again. "When the magnifiers are ready, you'll activate Jack and let him do the rest." He placed both hands on the table and let out a decisive sigh while nodding at his own reflection. "Go to the hangar and ready your zoomatrixes."

"It'll take a while to get the dust out of them." Lexi said as she got off her seat.

"They are fast and stealthy, we can't give her even the slightest chance to notice us." Tech argued, then headed towards a drawer and carefully took Jack out of it.

Without Duck, they had all gathered in front of the hangar, Tech approached the recognition pad that was next to the gates, which opened after he put his hand over it, they walked by the great variety of vehicles and equipment that were there and approached their zoomatrixes that were gathering dust on a corner. Tech got closer to his and wiped a layer of dust of its surface. "Old, but reliable."

Lexi activated her vehicle; it rumbled heavily, making a great amount of dust to automatically get off it, she got on it hesitantly, then smirked subtly after adjusting the windshield. "I never thought we would use these again." She looked at the zoomatrix that was parked next to hers and noticed it was Ace's one, she gave it a nostalgic look.

Slam had got over his cycle too and saw Lexi´s dismal gaze; he accelerated slightly to get closer to her and patted her back carefully, she looked at him and Slam just let out a snarl of support then made an affable smile.

Lexi simpered. "Thanks, big guy."

They all had got over their respective vehicles and put on their helmets. "Lexi!" Tech exclaimed and threw her Jack, she managed to react soon enough to catch the robotical worm. "Alright, let's do this, guys." He commanded before accelerating, followed by the rest. They turned on the flight function of the zoomatrixes, making two wings to come out from their sides, the hangar's exit gate opened, revealing that the sun had already arrived, they came out one by one through the wide aperture, heading directly to the street below the tower. As they reached the asphalt, they turned their cycles back to their terrestrial mode.

"Where to, Doc?" Lexi asked through the helmet's comm.

"I´m sending you all the directions to your spots." Tech pressed his wrist slightly.

The face shields of everyone´s helmet displayed a small map on a corner. "I got them!" Rev said.

"Me too!" Lexi added, along with Slam´s growl that communicated the same statement.

"Excellent, now we split." Tech separated from the group by turning to another street.

After the command, they all followed the map's instructions, getting closer to their respective edifices.

Lexi obeyed the map's suggested routes and parked next to the building she was commanded to cover. "I'm here, Tech." Lexi said, then took off her helmet and her suit's integrated comm reactivated automatically, she put the helmet on the vehicle's trunk and carried Jack, she got off the Zoomatrix and walked towards the stair she had spotted.

Tech was already getting close to his own designated building. "Go to the roof; you shall find a spherical machine on either of its corners, that is the magnifier, did the rest of you hear that?"

"Got it, but just to clarify, did you say spherical? I want to make sure I heard that well because these helmets' mics are kinda outdated and..." Rev got interrupted.

"Yes, Rev, spherical, the magnifiers are spherical, okay, is it clear?" Tech explained.

"Now it is, boss." Rev replied.

Lexi had arrived to the roof; it didn't take too long for her to find the magnifier; she walked towards it and kneeled down before it then placed her hand over its metallic surface. "Now this is some odd stuff." She raised her gaze and gasped at seeing the big, purple shield-like phenomenon that surrounded the stadium. "I spoke too fast."

Tech got off his vehicle and used his magnetic abilities to start climbing towards the roof of the edifice, helped by the building's external pipelines that were made of steel. "Don't worry." He got his feet on the roof's surface. "I know these devices, I´ll guide you." After spotting his magnifier, he walked towards it and removed a small lid from it by moving it away with his powers.

"I've found it." Rev said through his comm while waiting for instructions.

Slam growled, confirming he was also in front of the device.

"Okay, first things first, each magnifier is covered by a small, frontal lid." Tech instructed.

Meanwhile, Duck was taking a nap over one of the lounge's couches; he managed to hear that a door had been opened, so he quickly opened his eyes and stood up from the couch after a subtle gasp. He noticed that Ace had came out of his room. "Hi boss, uhm, what´s up?"

"Good morning, Duck." Ace said as he headed towards the kitchen. "I guess I´m fine; how are you doing?" He walked towards the cupboard and took a glass.

"Uhm, everything is fine, nothing out of the realm of normality." Duck said, then entered the kitchen.

Ace poured some carrot juice on the glass he had grabbed. "That´s good to hear." He took a sip of his beverage.

"Well, if you permit so, I would like to avoid further conversat..." Duck got interrupted.

"Where´s everybody?" Ace inquired.

Duck gulped. "Uhm, everybody? Oh everybody, well, we had run out of, sandals, so, yeah."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Sandals?"

Duck scratched his neck. "I know, I know, I told Tech it wasn't a big deal but some people take their feet like, very seriously, you know, conspiracy theories about germs in the floor and all of that stuff but who am I to judge? Or you." He said while pointing at Ace.

"O...kay, then."Ace took the last sip of his juice and left the glass over the bar then went back to the lounge and sat down on the couch in front of the TV.

Duck stayed in the kitchen for a moment, internally reproaching himself about his improvised excuse. He sighed and joined Ace, sitting on the adjacent couch. "So, how´s life?" He instantly got a dazed look from his boss.

Lexi gasped after managing to bend a wire from the magnfier´s inside. "Done."

Tech nodded as he had just done the same with his own. "Cool, what about the rest?"

"I'm superfast, don't you remember? That´s a yes, in case you wanted a better explanation of my state." Rev replied then Slam growled, stating he was also done with his magnifier.

"Great." Tech put the lid back on the device with his powers. "Secure them."

Lexi, Slam and Rev put back the lids on the spherical objects, which started to rumble. "Now what?" Lexi asked through her comm.

"Wake him up, Lexi." Tech commanded.

Lexi pressed Jack's back with her thumbs, the worm booted up fast and emitted several sounds. "He is back with us."

"Nice, I installed a hover function on him, just press his side." Tech replied.

Lexi followed Tech´s order and Jack started to float in front of her. "I had always wondered what is what you do in your spare time, this is not too far from what I imagined to be honest."

"Now, tell him to hover over the stadium." Tech commanded.

"Uhm, Jack, go hover over the stadium." Lexi said, Jack didn't move. "Tech, I think he is broken."

"Did you say please?" Tech asked.

Lexi sighed. "Really?" He looked at Jack with discontent. "Jack, could you please hover over the stadium?" Jack biped then obeyed Lexi´s command, it headed towards the complex then just stayed floating over the purple shield that surrounded it.

"Wait for it, guys, the signals should be intersecting already, Jack will help us create a wave field that should keep her trapped." Tech explained.

Slam growled, expressing his concern about for how long was she going to be trapped in there.

"Hours, but that´s valuable time for us to plan her definitive fall." Tech responded.

Jack started to rumble violently then Mourn´s shield got slowly surrounded by a blue colored field.

"It worked!" Lexi exclaimed.

"Did you expect a different result?" Tech boasted.

Lexi smirked before shaking her head. "Sometimes you can be a little too confident."

"Our work here is done, we should check the field more closely." Tech activated his jetpack then flew towards the stadium, his team followed him almost immediately. They arrived to the situation, Tech hovered carefully towards the blue wave field and knocked it gently with his fist. "Yeah, solid like a rock." He approached his look towards the transparent, blue surface to try to see what was happening on the inside, he saw Mourn throwing purple waves towards the field, with occasional screams of desperation. He let out a chuckle. "She is pissed." He looked at his team with a proud smile. "Mission accomplished."

"Great, I just hope this doesn't serve as a way to maximize all of that rage of hers, I mean, I wouldn't be happy if I were trapped inside a giant, blue who knows what against my will." Rev added.

"Don't worry Rev; we'll find a final solution, get back on your zoomatrixes, we'll meet at the hangar." Tech commanded and left the place heading towards where he had parked his zooomatrix, the others did the same.

The team returned to the hangar and left the zoomatrixes on their respective spots. "I hope Duck did a good job distracting Ace." Tech said as the hangar's doors closed behind them. They walked cautiously towards the lounge only to find Ace waiting for them.

Ace was standing next to the lounge's couches with his arms crossed and a face of discontent. "Did you really think Duck would've kept me distracted from your plan?" He said as they approached him.

Duck looked at him from the sofa he was sitting on. "I did my best!"

"Ace, it´s alright, she is trapped, temporarily, but at least now we´ll..." Tech got pushed by Ace rather aggressively.

"You made her betray me!" Ace exclaimed while pointing at Lexi.

"Ace! This had to be done and your mind is not what it used to be, we'll fix it, we'll save you!" Lexi argued.

"I'm fine, Lexi! Let go those stupid thoughts already!" Ace said.

Tech took a step towards Ace. "Don't talk to her that way!"

Ace punched him suddenly with no warning, Tech kneeled down while rubbing his snout then he growled and tried to throw a punch at Ace but he blocked it with a move of his leg then lifted him by grasping the cloth of his bodysuit and started to hit his stomach with his knee repeatedly, making Tech to cough and groan with intense pain, Ace dropped him on the floor then looked at the rest of the team, who were looking at him with horror and disbelief, he looked at his hands then returned his gaze at them, he gasped then his breathing got faster, he shook his head and ran towards the terrace, exiting through the large window that had opened automatically and activating his jetpack, getting out of their sight.

Lexi kneeled down next to Tech and helped him to get on his feet. "May we take you to the infirmary?"

Tech moved Lexi´s hand off his shoulder gently. "I'll be fine." He cleaned some blood off his snout. "My regeneration powers shall do the trick." He headed towards the terrace and turned on his jetpack.

"Where are you going?" Rev asked from the lounge.

"I just need to see someone." Tech flew away from the tower.


	29. Episode 29: Renewed Sympathies

Loonatics: United

Episode 29: Renewed Sympathies

Lexi was sitting on the floor, devastated for what she had just seen, a tear was trying to escape from the corner of her eye, it finally did so with a blink of hers. Duck was about to just enter his room like the others had done, but he then looked at Lexi and couldn't help it but to feel sorry for her, he sighed and walked towards her. "Uhm, you want to, talk?" He secretly hoped she said no, but there was just silence from her instead, which made him to sit down next to her. "Hey, it's not that bad, as you've been saying, he is not him."

Lexi sobbed. "That's not what worries me, Duck." She gazed at him. "What if he never comes back?"

"We've all been in worst situations Lexi; Tech will surely find a solution; he always does." Duck said.

Meanwhile, Tech was landing on the roof of an apartment tower; he turned off his jetpack then went downstairs to the tower´s last floor. He headed to the elevator then pressed a button that took him to the fifth floor. The elevator's doors opened, and he exited from it then headed to the apartment that was marked with the number twenty. He didn't hesitate to knock the door after he had got in front of it. With no major delay, the door was opened, Susan received him with a happy, yet dazed look, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a black blouse. "Oh hi, love!" She embraced him like if she hadn't seen him for ages then kissed him for a few seconds. "What a, uhm, great surprise."

Tech just gave her a strained smile. "Hi Susan." He briefly gazed at the apartment's interior. "If you are busy, I can just…"

"Oh, what things you say, come in! Dinner is just ready." Susan let him in with a gesture, he walked past her then she closed the door and went to the kitchen at the other side of the bar. "I hope you like lasagna." She looked at Tech from the kitchen; he was sitting on the dining table with his gaze lost. "Love?"

Tech suddenly managed to pay attention to her voice. "Oh, yeah, lasagna is fine."

Later, they were both eating the lasagna Susan had made. "I missed this, Susan." Tech said before bringing a piece of lasagna to his mouth with the fork.

Susan cleaned her snout with a napkin. "You are not the first one who misses my food."

Tech chuckled. "Well, that's also true, but I mean…" He made a gesture to refer to the general situation. "This, the two of us, spending time together, I just feel bad for never having time to be with you."

"Oh, sweetie." Susan took his hand over the table. "I'm okay with that; I mean your job is a demanding one."

"Technically, it's not a job." Tech said.

"Well still." Susan smirked, then she ate the last bit of her food just before Tech did the same.

"Wonderful as always." Tech said then took his plate, and Susan's, he walked to the kitchen followed by his girlfriend.

Tech started to clean the dishes on the sink. "Susan, have you seen the news lately?"

Susan chuckled. "The weird, screaming lady? Yeah, I heard you managed to defeat her."

"If only we just had, my team only could trap her temporarily inside the field, but I don't know for how long." Tech stated.

"And you need some advice." Susan said.

"I wouldn't call it that way." Tech placed the last dish on the drawer after drying it with a towel, then exited the kitchen.

"Oh, so is not that." Susan stated then followed him, he had gone to the living room.

Tech sighed and sat down in the couch that faced the large window. "Well, it's…"

Susan sat down next to him. "Come on, it's fine if you need help." She leaned closer to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "Tell me."

Tech sighed then looked at her. "I found a way to attack her, to hurt her, it worked well for a moment but she is very strong." He growled. "It could've worked if it wasn't for Ace."

Susan raised an eyebrow. "Ace?"

"He insisted in not sending Lexi to support us, he didn't want to lead the mission or even accompany us." Tech said. "Then I decided to organize a secret mission behind his back."

"Tech." Susan scolded him.

"Just hear me out; he is not the same, Susan, he's been acting oddly since Mourn attacked him, he is overprotective, unstable and aggressive." Tech turned his gaze to the floor. "We even had an argument; he beat me up then I came here."

Susan gasped subtly as her eyes showed concern. "Oh dear, are you alright?" She started to rub his arm.

"Yeah, don't worry, my regeneration powers handled the issue quite well." Tech replied.

Susan frowned. "I may have a couple of things to say to your boss then."

Tech shook his head. "No, this is more complicated, I mean he certainly did so, but I know the Ace I have admired ever since we started working together would never do that, to anyone."

Susan nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you, anyway." Tech took her hand. "But now there are bigger issues to solve besides that."

"And what will we do?" Susan asked.

"See this?" Tech showed her his bracelet. "This little device produces and shoots waves with the help of Lexi's brain blast, we used them to confront Mourn, but as I said, it wasn't enough." He sighed. "And I'm afraid we might have no more time to find another method."

Susan got thoughtful for a moment then turned her gaze back at Tech. "Why change the method? Maybe you just need to make it great scale this time."

Tech raised his gaze from the floor then looked at her. "Like, bigger bracelets?"

Susan gave him a serious look. "I know you are smarter than that."

Tech chuckled. "And I appreciate that knowledge of yours, let's make that wave cannon."

"You've just read my mind." Susan said.

Tech smirked and stood up from the couch. "And I thought you had read mine."

Susan and Tech had arrived to the terrace next to the HQ's lounge via Tech's jetpack, Susan unwrapped her arms off him as they landed. "Your flight is getting less sloppy as I can tell."

Tech chuckled after shutting down his jetpack. "I have to be careful to give my girl a pleasant trip." He walked towards the window. "Open." The window slid upwards at his command then he let Susan enter the HQ before him.

"I think the boss hasn't come back." Tech said while they were heading towards the lab.

"So it really was an argument." Susan said.

"Yeah, I…" Tech got interrupted.

"Doc…" Ace was standing behind them in front of the exit towards the terrace.

Tech turned around with hesitation to look at him. "Boss."

Ace started to walk towards him, Susan took Tech's hand from behind, Tech assumed a defensive position with his gaze locked on Ace's, as his boss got in front of him, he prepared his fists for the worst but Ace gave him a hug of apology instead.

"Sorry man." Ace said. "I don't know what the heck happened to me, it won't happen ever again, I promise." He broke the hug and looked at his comrade. "Forgive me, Doc. For everything."

Tech's gaze showed doubt, but then he smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "There is nothing to forgive, boss."

The rest of the team had seen the entire matter. "Ace." Lexi walked by her friends towards his boyfriend, she gently placed both hands on his face and looked attentively at his eyes, she smiled as she knew he was back by the peaceful look of his gaze and started to kiss him.

Duck rolled up his eyes. "Yeah, show off your love to us, the lonely and forgotten ones, go ahead." He then looked at Tech and Susan, who were just sharing looks of mutual love while having their hands interlaced. "Whatever." He said as he crossed his arms.

Lexi separated her lips from Ace's. "What shall we do, boss?"

"That depends." Ace turned his gaze towards Tech. "You got something, Doc?"

"Yes, well, now it's just an idea but Susan and I will get it done in no time." Tech replied.

"I'm glad to hear that." Ace added.

Rev ran fast to get in front of his boss. "I know all you might want right know is to forget the surely horrifying experience you lived but I just want to know, how did you go back to normal, you know, you being yourself again."

Tech looked at Ace. "Actually, that information would be of great help."

Ace scratched the back of his neck. "Well, all I can remember is that I started to have terrible, dreadful thoughts, but I wasn't able to stop them, they started to be more and more and then I just, woke up, you know, like from a nightmare."

Susan gasped subtly. "Mind overcharge?" She whispered to Tech.

"It could be." Tech stated.

"What?" Ace inquired.

"Mind overcharge, it is supposed to happen when the mind gets out of control and starts to generate random thoughts, then it just reboots, like a computer crash." Tech explained.

"And the point is?" Duck asked.

"The point is, Duck, that if we manage to replicate whatever happened in Ace's mind and apply it towards Mourn, we can unstabilize her and defeat her." Tech responded.

"Great, we just need someone who has a slight idea on replicating these, uhm, mind issues." Lexi argued.

"That's…actually something important to consider." Tech looked at Susan. "Do you have any idea on how to do this?"

Susan chuckled. "Ask that to the ten minutes course about mind and technology I took months ago."

"Of course she did so." Duck expressed.

Ace smirked. "Time to work then, Doc. You take the lead this time.


	30. Episode 30: Demise

Loonatics: United

Episode 30: Demise

Tech and Susan were doing the last adjustments to the wave cannon they had been working on as Ace and Lexi were in front of them just watching, Tech walked away from the machine then returned carrying a pilot seat, he put the black colored seat on the floor and Susan lifted it to attach it to the motorized cannon, it was a capsule shaped vehicle with black, mate paint and large, purple lines designing its sides. As Susan finished soldering the seat to the vehicle, it had now space for two people, they had already installed one of the two seats the cannon needed.

"How does it work?" Ace asked while glancing at the vehicle with a subtle look of admiration, the mate paint over the metallic surface was something he certainly found pretty garish.

"With Lexi's abilities and the actual status of your mind, these helmets will act in conjunction with the vehicle to generate a charge that you will shoot towards her once ready, if my theory is correct, that would fill her mind with such mental burden she'll find it hard to recover from that attack." Tech explained after taking a pair of shiny, black helmets from the floor.

Ace nodded as Tech handed him his helmet. "How many chances do we have?" He said while studying the device.

"As long as Lexi keeps firing her brain blast in the helmet, the cannon will have enough charge to do a plenty of tries." Tech explained then looked at Susan to confirm the work status, she nodded while pressing a red button over a remote she held, the vehicle started to float over the lab's floor, emitting a dim, purple light from its bottom.

"I'll do whatever is necessary." Lexi expressed then she put on her helmet, which let her ears to come out and only her eyes could be seen through the face shield.

They had moved the vehicle to the hangar, the outer gates were opened, ready to let the team go. Ace got near the weaponized vehicle. "We can't afford to lose more time." He put on the helmet carefully and placed a hand on the vehicle's surface.

"You'll pilot, Ace, but with the helmet you are also providing the weapon your actual mental structure, that's why we need you to maintain stability so the charges can stay harmful for her." Tech advised, then crouched slightly to teach Ace the basics of the wave cannon as his boss sat down in the vehicle's seat. "The steering wheel is designed to make precise movements, down there you got a pedal that activates with immediate contact, I made sure to make this machine as intuitive as possible." Tech explained then walked a few steps away from the vehicle, Lexi sat down in her respective seat next to Ace's, Susan then pressed another button on the remote and the vehicle's only window closed automatically.

Ace looked at Tech through the window. "Thanks, back us up as soon as you arrive at the stadium." His voice sounded rather distorted by the helmet's mouth vent.

"Don't worry, we'll be there, I'll inform you when we deactivate the field so you can get in." Tech responded.

Ace nodded. "Do it fast, Tech, see you there." He didn't hesitate to push the pedal and make the vehicle move fast towards the exit through the stored machinery. He and Lexi got out of the hangar with a young sunset in their sight.

Tech turned around to look at the others. "Now it's our turn, we'll reconfigure the magnifiers to establish their original settings then I'll take Jack with me, once that is done you´ll rush to the stadium, understood?"

"How do we counter attack her when we arrive?" Rev asked.

"Yeah, Lexi will be inside the cannon and our bracelets are out of charges." Duck added.

Tech scratched his chin while briefly walking in circles. "They won't be necessary, we'll use them just as protection, the best we can do there is to distract her." He looked at Rev and Duck. "Have you practiced the energy halo?"

"I think is ready, we have spent hours trying to perfect it." Rev responded.

Tech smirked confidently. "Then that will do, and be careful with your leg, Duck." He turned his gaze to Slam. "I'm counting on those punches of yours." Slam growled cockily at his comment. "Great." He looked at his girlfriend and walked towards her. "Could you give me a moment?" He asked his teammates, who nodded at him then gave them some more space.

"Listen, Susan, if I don't get…" Tech got interrupted by a sudden kiss of hers.

Susan smiled at him. "You'll be fine, I know you so well to even doubt of it."

Tech grinned. "I hope so, but if things go wrong anyways, hide on the lab's panic room, I beg you to do it, that woman is dangerous."

Susan lowered her head for a moment then nodded and looked at him as she understood his worries. "I will."

Tech smiled again then he hugged her. Their embrace lasted for a brief moment then he slowly broke the hug. He looked again at his comrades. "Let's jet, boys."

Ace lowered the steering wheel to get the cannon and themselves next to the active field that surrounded the stadium. "We are here, Tech, I'll wait for your signal." Ace said, the helmet had a direct connection to his suit's comm.

"Hold on, boss." Tech said from the other side of the line. "Just one more minute."

"Understood." Ace responded then he looked at Lexi. "Are you ready?"

Lexi looked him back. "You know I am." She turned her gaze to the front and started to focus on her ability.

Ace hesitated to keep speaking, he then found courage to do so. "I am sorry, the things I did and said." He sighed. "They weren't…"

"I know, Ace." Lexi took his hand. "I know." She gave him a look of empathy.

The field suddenly started to deactivate, it's spherical form was slowly disintegrating until it disappeared. Ace received a transmission from his comm. "Boss, it's done." Tech had recovered Jack from above the field with the help of his jetpack.

"Good job, we are getting in." Ace pushed the pedal and began to move the vehicle towards the stadium's inside, they went through Mourn's purple sphere and she noticed them immediately, letting out a scream of agony. They were still holding each other's hand, Ace interlaced his fingers with hers and tightened his grip as fear started to invade him. Mourn threw a dark wave towards the vehicle but Ace managed to evade it as he moved the steering wheel with his other hand to the right. "Lexi, it's our turn."

Lexi closed her eyes and started to shoot her power inside the helmet, then the vehicle's tip started to glow pink, Ace noticed it and started to look for the steering wheel's fire button with his thumb, he then felt it and pushed it hard when he aimed the vehicle at Mourn then a huge, pink charge went out of the cannon-vehicle and it hit her with strength. She cried out loud as she was thrown by the force of the attack, she landed heavily on the holo-field, her outside started to open and show the young female fox Tech had seen before.

"No, she is mine, I am her!" Mourn said with a voice of struggle as she tried to get up.

Ace gasped. "Did you see that?"

"She is just a girl, she is like, inside of her." Lexi stated. "She is a hostage."

Ace looked through the window and looked at the people who were suffering under Mourn's mental attacks. "So them."

As Mourn got into her feet, she tried to start floating again but was suddenly hit by an energy sphere, which sent her again to the field's holographic surface. Duck teleported from where he was flying with his jetpack to the field. He appeared in front of Mourn then took a few steps backwards. "Rev! It's time!"

Rev landed on the other side of the field then started to run in circles around her, caging her on an opaque, red blur. "Duck, throw'em now, she is starting to recover!" Rev ran away from the phenomenon he had created around Mourn then Duck started to throw spheres to it, the red blur started to change its color as the spheres mixed with it, Mourn was inside of the blur looking at her sides with desperation, she was too weak to throw a wave to destroy it so the blur suddenly collapsed and made explosion, damaging Mourn badly.

The colorful and powerful phenomenon had vanished, but Mourn was still there, on her knees, holding herself with both hands on the blue surface, gasping and looking at them. "She is not going…" Mourn's head opened slightly and revealed again the young girl inside her. "Back." Mourn said as her head rejoined.

Slam growled and jumped towards her then punched the holo-field heavily with his fist, making her to scream and land a few meters away from him.

"Be careful!" Tech stated as he hovered over the situation with cautious eyes.

"You!" Mourn got into her feet again. "You are not rival for me!" She started to form a purple sphere between the palms of her hands.

"Again, Lexi!" Ace commanded while pointing the vehicle towards Mourn, then Lexi used her power again and the cannon got recharged, Ace didn't wait more to shoot the charge towards her, it hit her stronger than the last time and sent her to a wall which immediately broke with the impact, Mourn fell to the ground again, she lifted her arm as she laid there, which started to open and reveal an orange furred arm, with its hand pleading for help.

Tech headed towards her rapidly, impulsed by his jetpack, he then took the girl's hand as he got his feet on the field. "You can do it, come on." He started to pull her, making the young female fox to come out of the dark skin that had been covering her, he managed to see her face. "It's okay, just look at me." The girl got her other hand out of her previous form and took Tech's arm, Tech started to take several steps backwards to get her completely out of the obscure body, which was trying to stop him from doing so as it was pulling the girl's shoe with struggle, Tech gasped as he gave a final pull, getting the girl completely out of Mourn's body, which then just stopped moving. They both ended on the ground, Tech and the girl then lifted their backs slowly. "It's over." Tech looked at the girl. "She is gone."

She had black lipstick, her hair was black and she had a long fleck covering one of her eyes, she was wearing a black dress and her right ear had a piercing on it. She looked perturbed and had her gaze locked on the remains of Mourn. She suddenly felt a hand patting her shoulder then looked at Tech who was smiling at her. "How?" She said with a broken voice. "Is this, true? Am I free?"

"You are free now." Tech started to stand up while helping her to do so. As they both got into their feet, they noticed that the people around them in the stadium started to get back to normal.

The young fox gave him a thankful look. "I am Praise, not Mourn, not that monster, I'm Praise Padmore." She smiled with a tear on the corner of her eye.

"It's a pleasure, Praise, I am Tech." He extended her hand but Praise hugged him with no warning.

"Thank you, thank you very much." Praise said with a lump on her throat.

"It's nothing." Tech said reassuringly, after a moment, they broke the hug. He looked at his comrades, who were looking at him with pride. "Back to the HQ."

The night had come. On the HQ's lounge, Praise, Susan and the Loonatics were sitting on the lounge's couches, listening the young girl's story. "I was in my house, well, if you could actually call that hole a house, I had an agreement with my parents, they started to fight and yell, I couldn't take it anymore and locked myself inside of my room, then everything went dark and my house got destroyed, they died but somehow I survived, I know I woke up years later but I had already turned into her, that monster, I, she, we, I don't know, I remember we were seeing my destroyed home after we got out of the rubble a few days ago, with satisfaction, with pleasure, knowing they were both dead."

"The meteor." Ace said. "It was the same thing that gave us our abilities, it affected everyone, Praise, one way or another."

"I guess no one noticed the ones who lived on the marginated zone, I don't know why it took me so long to wake up." Praise said.

"Maybe she, or that thing was like in some kind of gestation phase, I'm sorry how old are you?" Rev asked.

"By this time I should be much more older but, she kept me young, like the day of the incident years ago, so I guess I am still twenty." Praise said.

"Intriguing." Rev replied. "I didn't think we would ever find another one affected by the meteor.

Ace sighed. "Well the important thing now is that is over." Ace stood up. "Tell me, have you got family? Uncles, or something?"

"My parents were my only family." Praise let out a subtle chuckle. "I'm glad they are gone."

Ace showed a look of concern. "Don't worry, I, I will contact some friends who could help you."

"What about the black mass we left at the stadium?" Duck said.

"Hill will keep it safe on The Eye's base." Tech responded. "They've taken care of that already."

Susan took Praise's hand as she was sitting next to her. "Things will change for the better, you'll see." She said in a reassuring tone.

Praise had her gaze on the window, she sighed then looked at her. "I hope so."

Ace was in the kitchen, with his comm facing his snout, waiting for a response. "Active Risk Management, what can we do for you?" A male voice responded.

"Matt, hey, it's Ace, I need a favor, you don't have to do it if you don't want to but." Ace sighed. "It would be of great help."

The next day, on the offices of A.R.M., Matt and Anne's security company, Matt was sitting on an executive chair in front of a large desktop inside of the main office, its walls were plain white and had a few plants decorating it, Matt had his legs stretched and both hands behind his neck. Anne opened the door behind him and entered the office. "How is she doing?" Matt asked as she got next to him.

Anne sighed. "It's hard for her, but I think she'll get by soon, I told her to work on the map designs of the city, she's got a notable talent for that."

Matt nodded and adopted a more formal posture on his seat. "She is young, that's all, Praise will be a great asset, I'm sure about that."

"I told you those extra rooms were a good idea." Anne stated.

Matt smirked. "You are always right, hon."

Someone knocked the door all of a sudden. "Come in!" Anne said, then a female, black furred cat opened the door and entered the office shyly. She wore a red sleeveless shirt and a pair of dark gray tights.

"Uhm, hi, I am here for the pilot job." The cat said with a soft tone.

"You are at the right place." Matt put both hands over the desktop. "First things first, what's your name."

The cat rubbed her arm gently. "Peyton." She looked at them with insecurity. "Peyton Pussycat."

* * *

Author´s note: I hope you enjoyed this phase of the saga, I can´t be grateful enough with you for the support you´ve shown to the story, you are awesome :D. I´d been planning to introduce Peyton for a while, you´ll see much more of her on the next chapter. Stay tuned to see what´s next for our heroes!


	31. Episode 31: The Hunt

Loonatics: United

Episode 31: The Hunt

The ceiling of the cell was dirty, dark and bland, just as the life of the man that laid on the humid cot below it, condemned, doomed, forgotten, those were the words that the brown furred ferret tended to come up with when thinking about himself, forced to live everyday wearing the same orange uniform, always looking upwards to the barely illuminated ceiling by the hallway's dying lamps. The ferret's ear twitched suddenly when he managed to hear steps ahead of his cell, he moved his head slightly to get a better look, he could only see a shadow behind the cell's bars, then a strange sound came from the bars which just split in several, asymmetrical pieces that stood floating there and blinking occasionally, appearing and disappearing instead of falling to the floor, the prison's alarms activated after that, the ferret got off the bed and took a few frightened steps to the front to see more clearly, then all of a sudden he felt a forceful grip on his neck, which made him to cough, his unexpected visitor had revealed herself from the shadows, who had managed to walk through the glitched bars seamlessly, she was a blue furred panther who wore black boots and fingerless gloves of the same tone, a pair of black cargo pants, a black tube top and a black coat, she was also wearing a purple earring on her left ear. "Phillip, long time no see." The panther said.

"H…" Phillip gasped and coughed intermittently. "Heather, what do you want?" He was trying to undo her grip with both of his hands, with no success.

Heather let out a sarcastic chuckle. "You always want to get direct into business, don't you?"

"I…I thought I had no debts left with you…I paid you them all." Phillip said with continuous struggle to talk.

"Oh really? Then you've must forgotten the game of the Fifth Room gang." Heather replied as she got her face closer to his.

Phillip's eyes widened as he gulped. "That…was a long time ago…I thought you…had forgiven that bet."

"I never forgive!" Heather squashed his neck more tightly with her hand. "I know you well, miserable scoundrel, where is my money?"

Phillip coughed once again. "I…hide cash in the toilet's tank." Heather walked towards the toilet, still grasping Phillip's neck, she put her unoccupied hand over the lid then lifted it and dropped it on the floor, a black, plastic bag was under the water, she put her hand inside the water after letting go off the ferret's neck and took the bag, wet and full of money, she opened it and took out a wad of bills from it, examining it carefully, she nodded at it then put it back in the bag. "This will do." She looked at Phillip who was still struggling to recover from her attack.

Phillip looked at her, scared and thankful at the same time. "Heather, th…" A spiked group of concrete formations had suddenly gone through him from the ground, leaving him lifeless. Heather had her opened hand lifted in front of the ferret's corpse. "That'll do too." She smirked and lowered her arm then started to put the money on her coat's bags.

Heather dropped the empty plastic bag then raised her arm and looked at the bars of the cell, which still had a section glitched, she turned her hand slightly to the right and all the bars started to move randomly while appearing and disappearing from the visible spectrum, moving to the sides at Heather's will to make a sufficient exit. She walked through the aperture she had just created.

As the alarms of the prison were still sounding, she ran confidently rather hurried through the large, dark hallway, she thought she would get out of there soon but all of a sudden she encountered someone on her way.

"Hands behind your head! Now!" Matt was pointing at her with his laser gun, he was wearing the same black uniform The Eye had given to him, only that the A.R.M. initials had replaced The Eye's logo.

Heather backed away a little bit, she looked at her surroundings and decided to manipulate the ambient once again so she moved her hands to the front and focused her thoughts on the concrete walls they were both between of. Matt raised an eyebrow as he noticed the walls were acting in a way he had never seen before on any situation, they started to appear and disappear randomly, showing briefly the inside of the cells behind them as they did so. Heather did a final gesture with her hands and then the glitched structure of the walls changed in a way that it had become a favorable set of platforms for Heather to use, she ran towards the first glitchy platform and started to jump one by one with grace and agility as Matt shoot at her with his gun without managing to hit her a single time, she reached the last one of the rough, odd platforms which was close to the ceiling and right above Matt by holding from it with both hands, she took impulse by swinging forth and back with her arms then let go off the platform and landed behind Matt, she took the opportunity to kick his head rapidly, he growled with pain and fell to the floor, rubbing the back of his head with complaint, he tuned his gaze to the end of the hallway behind him, Heather had got out of his sight.

"Anne, I lost her." Matt said through the comm he had on his wrist while still laying on the floor.

"Copy that, I'll see if she is on my sector." Anne ran rapidly between the walls that shaped one of the many hallways of the prison, she exited to a greater area then immediately ran into another hallway to keep looking for Heather, she then got herself on another general zone, she took hurried steps to the next hallway and saw Heather's coat showing up briefly behind the other side of it, she didn't hesitate to go after her, when she reached the end of the hallway, she saw Heather manipulating a wall that was blocking her way with her powers. "Stop right there!" Anne took her gun out of its holster and aimed it at Heather. "It's over."

Heather smirked and looked over her shoulder. She snapped her fingers and Anne's gun suddenly got surrounded by a glitched space of the environment, the attack had caused pain on Anne's arm which made her to drop the weapon with a gasp, then Heather raised her hand up and turned it slightly then Anne got surrounded by the same phenomenon Heather had made moments before, Heather moved her hand and smashed Anne onto a nearby wall with the help of the glitched environment that had been holding her, Anne screamed by the pain then fell to the ground. Heather grinned again then glitched the wall before her and made an entrance for herself, she entered the room she now had access to then turned around and closed the entrance with another glitch product of a gesture of hers.

Anne got into her feet slowly while rubbing her arm, she walked towards the wall Heather had previously manipulated. "Matt." She gasped. "She is on the machine room." She said through her comm.

"Then she doesn't know what awaits her." Matt said from the other side of the line.

Heather spotted a staircase that was on a corner at the bottom of the room, she hurried towards it without hesitation but then stopped running as she found herself in front of Ace Bunny. "Going somewhere, darling?" He said as Tech also revealed himself from the room's shadows.

"You are done, Heather, you got nowhere left to go." Tech stated as he readied his magnetic powers.

"I'm the one who decides that." Heather moved her hand towards an engine that was next to them then manipulated it and divided it into several pieces, she then threw them towards the two Loonatics, Tech reacted and held the conglomerate of metal pieces on the air with his powers before it could hit them then returned it to her with strength, the pieces hit her and sent her to the ground.

"As we said." Ace turned his eyes red as he was preparing his laser vision. "You are done."

Heather stood up with struggle then looked at the pipelines that were on the ceiling, she waved her hand and they divided in two separate blocks of pipeline covered by a glitchy layer, she then threw them towards them, Tech managed to stop the pipeline from hitting him with his powers but Ace couldn't and got hit by the piece of pipeline on the head, he gasped and got on one knee, he rubbed his head then got into his feet and shoot the laser at her, she reacted and formed a shield of glitch in front of her which protected her from Ace's response, Tech threw the glitched pipeline at her but she divided it in many individual pieces then made them to go after Ace and surround him, he couldn't move and Heather started to glitch the prison-like armor to hurt Ace who started to scream with pain as she separated the palms of her hands slowly.

"Boss!" Tech exclaimed, then activated his integrated jetpack and flew towards Heather, he punched her and made her to hit the wall with her back, he quickly deactivated his jetpack and started to fight her, he had thrown another punch but Heather managed to avoid it, she hit his stomach with her knee then used her elbow to hit Tech's neck, he gasped and got over his knees.

Ace had freed himself from the prison with his laser vision, he tried to approach her but she glitched the environment again and made a part of the floor to lift her up and get above Ace then she jumped from it and landed behind him, she threw a kick towards the back of his leg and hurt him enough to stop him from chasing her, he looked over his shoulder while having one hand on the floor along with a knee, he noticed Heather had gone upstairs.

Heather was now on an attic, which was full of shelves with files and papers, she tried to look for a window or something she could use to escape but was suddenly hit by a force she couldn't distinguish at the moment, she got hit again and gasped with complaint then got hit again and ended on the floor, she looked up and saw a red blur a few meters ahead then it vanished and revealed who was her attacker. "Too fast for you tough girl?" Rev said then ran again towards her, she dodged him with anticipation by rolling to the right then stood up quickly, her arms got cuffed all of a sudden from behind by a rival she hadn't seen.

"Nice moves." Lexi said while struggling to keep her arms cuffed with her own. "But not nice enough, though." Heather hit her shin with her heel which forced Lexi to let her go, Heather tried to use her power on her but noticed nothing was happening, she touched her ear and let out a subtle gasp of worry as she discovered she had lost her earring, she gazed at the floor but found nothing. "Are you looking for this?" Lexi had recovered from the previous fight, she was holding the earring in front of her.

"Give it to me!" Heather ran towards her and threw a punch at her but Lexi blocked it with a kick then hit her side with her knee, Heather groaned then tried to take the earring from her hand but Lexi raised it and threw it to the other side of the room.

"Rev! Catch!" Lexi said.

"Got it!" Rev said as he managed to take the device after a quick rush.

Heather tried to go after him but Rev easily went from place to place in a blink so she knew it was impossible for her to reach him, she detected the running pattern Rev was using so she took out a knife from her belt and threw it to the place she knew Rev was going to appear in, the knife went through his leg so he stooped running immediately and ended sitting down on a corner, screaming by the pain he was feeling and trying to get the knife out of his leg, he had lost the earring which was on the floor a few meters next to him.

"Rev!" Lexi exclaimed and approached him to try to aid him with the wound.

Meanwhile, Heather took the chance and reached the earring, she took it and put it back on her ear. She pointed her hand towards her knife which was still on Rev's bleeding leg, she glitched that area to recover her knife which hurt Rev even more, the knife disappeared from his leg then appeared in front of heather floating with the help of the hold of the glitched environment, she took it and put it back on her belt then raised her hand up and clenched her fist then started to lower her arm slowly, she made the ceiling to open and formed an improvised staircase with its structure then just started to climb it to get to the rooftop.

Lexi looked over her shoulder while having her hand on Rev's wound to prevent more blood from coming of it, she noticed they had lost her. "Ace, Rev is injured, badly, and Heather is on the rooftop." Lexi said through her comm.

"Take care of him then, meet us there in brief." Ace responded through his comm as he helped Tech to get into his feet.

Heather was on the rooftop, she sealed the exit she had made with a gesture, making the structure she had manipulated to rearrange in one piece, she turned around as she started to hear strong steps that made the roof to tremble, she looked upwards and saw a big figure that had jumped and was almost covering the great moon that night was offering, the figure landed in front of her with both fists on the ground, then growled and took a few steps to the front, Slam was her next rival.

Heather lowered her shoulders. "You gotta be kidding me." She sighed then ran towards Slam, he snarled beastly and mimicked her action, they were rushing towards each other until an orange sphere hit Heather on the face, which pushed her to the side and left her with the face on the ground.

"And it will just get better, sweetheart!" Duck said as he walked towards her.

Heather growled and stood up with her fist clenched, she waited for Duck to throw another attack to her, he did so in no time and Heather then pointed her fist towards the upcoming spheres and glitched the ambient around them to hold them in the air, she then waved her hand towards Slam and attacked him with Duck's spheres, they hit him along the glitched layer that surrounded them and exploded right on Slam's face, he growled and hit the ground several times as he bounced by the strength of the attack, he almost fell off the building but reacted soon enough to hold from a side of it with one hand.

Heather grinned and looked at Duck with a confident look. "Now it's just me and you, little bird!"

"You are wrong again!" Ace said as he, Tech, Lexi and Rev were hovering in front of her with their jetpacks, except for Rev who was being carried by Lexi. Ace and Lexi started to shoot their powers at her, she covered her head then started to run across the rooftop, the building's end didn't stop her to jump to the next one. Duck and Slam activated their jetpacks and joined the team on the chase that was taking place, Heather dodged Ace and Lexi's attacks with instinct as her gaze was still locked on the buildings ahead, she began to run faster to get enough speed to jump to the next building safely, thing she accomplished as she landed gracefully on the rooftop then kept running.

As the attacks started to get closer to her, she decided to stop running and turn around. "Enough!" She exclaimed at the Loonatics, who had just stopped moving forward and stood hovering over the building instead. "I surrender!" She put both hands behind her neck.

"Wise decision!" Duck said.

Tech tried to lower himself with his jetpack's assistance towards the rooftop but Ace grabbed the cloth of his suit to stop him. "Wait." Ace mumbled.

Heather lowered her head, then moved both of her index fingers behind her nape, she smirked and began to lower her arms. "Or not." She said as she gazed at them.

Lexi noticed her jetpack was malfunctioning, it was emitting odd sounds and all she could see when she looked over her shoulder was her jetpack trapped on a glitchy space of the ambient. "What the…!" The jetpack's propellers exploded all of a sudden and Lexi started to fall down towards the rooftop along with Rev, she hugged Rev to avoid him to get more hurt and they both landed violently on the rooftop's surface, the rest of the team couldn't express their concern because the same thing happened with their jetpacks a moment later, they all began to fall down towards the rooftop while leaving a trace of smoke behind them, they were unable to brace themselves from the impact so they ended laying on the rooftop hurt and with considerable pain.

Heather smirked for a last time then ran towards the next building and jumped, while being on the air, with her feet above the alley, she put her hands together then separated them, she deconstructed the structure of the building that was ahead of her and made an exit on the wall, she got inside the newly made aperture then closed it from the inside.

A black helicopter was flying over the situation, it was being piloted by Peyton Pussycat, A.R.M.'s newest member, she moved the helicopter a bit to the right to get a better look of the building as the smoke didn't let her see well through the lateral window, she gasped after managing to see the Loonatics struggling to get into their feet inside the great amount of smoke. "Ace! What happened!" Peyton said with worry through the helicopter's comm.

Ace groaned while dragging himself towards Lexi and Rev, who had managed to get in a sitting position. "She destroyed our jetpacks." He gasped. "We lost her." He said through his comm.

Peyton tried to spot Heather with a quick gaze towards the nearby areas, she managed to see her running through several alleys. "Ace, I am seeing her, near the ACME Motors agency."

Ace was helping Lexi and Rev to stand up. "We are too far and got no transport, we'll hear about her later Peyton, don't worry."

Peyton didn't want to lose sight of her. "I can do it, Ace, I'm going after her."

"What? Peyton, no! Go and meet with your team, we'll get her the next time!" Ace commanded through his comm, he patted it with intrigue as he didn't hear any response. "Peyton?"

"I'm sorry." Peyton said while turning off all of the vehicle's communications. "It is now or never." She pushed the stick all the way forward and the helicopter started to move faster towards the alleys Heather was running through.

The Loonatics had all stood up, they were watching the helicopter leaving. Ace got his comm near to his snout. "Matt, have you gotten out of the building?"

"Yes, we are both here, did you catch her?" Matt asked as he and Anne were under the building's facade.

"No, but Peyton found her, she wants to finish this herself." Ace responded.

"What the…is she out of her mind?!" Matt replied from the other side of the line.

Ace sighed. "Just go help her! She mentioned something about ACME Motors, search in the neighborhood!"

"Understood." Matt lowered his arm and ended the communication then looked at Anne. "Let's go before she gets herself killed." He started to hurry towards the place Ace had told them to go along with Anne.

"I hope we don't arrive to late." Anne added while gasping thanks to the desperate rush they were both doing.

Peyton anticipated where Heather was going to, so she landed the helicopter gently over the rooftop of a small building. She turned off the vehicle's engines and got off the vehicle then headed towards a staircase that led to the alley Heather was approaching. She climbed down the staircase until she reached the ground with her feet.

Heather was running with no stop through the alleys until she saw Peyton standing in front of her. "You…" Peyton said with a subtle tone of fright. "You are going with me." She adopted a combat position.

Heather let out a chuckle of mockery. "Really? Do you have mind control powers or something?"

"I don't need powers to beat you." Peyton replied.

"How cute." Heather took the earring off her ear and put it on her coat, thing that unsettled Peyton. "Bring it on then."

Peyton started to walk towards her then hurried her steps and tried to throw a punch at Heather who just blocked the punch easily with one hand and hit Peyton's belly with her knee, Peyton groaned by the pain then Heather put her against the wall and continued to hit her stomach with the same movement, Peyton was running out of air and couldn't even ask for mercy, her gasps became more and more silent at each hit she received, Heather finally decided to stop hurting her and dropped her aggressively to the dirty ground.

Heather crouched next to her and grasped her snout strongly with one hand. "Poor little thing." She said mockingly and let go off Peyton's snout violently. She stood up and took her earring out of her coat and put it on then left the place in a hurry.

A couple of minutes later, Matt and Anne found Peyton still laying on the ground, they both gasped and rushed towards her. "Peyton!" Matt exclaimed before crouching next to her.

Peyton lifted her head slightly and looked at him. "Sorry." She said with a broken voice.

"What were you thinking?!" Matt tried to help her to stand up but could only manage to leave her sitting on the ground as she gasped with pain.

"Stop." Peyton gasped again while putting her hand on her belly. "This hurts." She managed to get up slowly. "A lot." Her voice was still broken.

"Oh, Peyton." Anne approached them. "What happened?"

"I thought I could do something, that's all." Peyton said then let out a sob. "I won't do it ever again, I promise."

Anne sighed then walked towards her and hugged her with empathy. "The important thing now is that you are okay."

"You could've gotten yourself killed." Matt stated.

Anne broke the hug and stared at Matt. "But she is fine, Matt, she made a mistake that's all."

Matt shook his head as he had his arms crossed then let out a sigh. "Sure." He looked at Peyton. "You got us very worried." He suddenly received a signal from his comm.

"Matt, did you find her?" Ace asked.

"Yes, yes she is okay just a little bit hurt, that's all." Matt replied with the comm nearby his snout, he could hear a sigh of relief from Ace.

"I'm so glad to hear so." Ace said. "We are on the jet, we'll do some patrolling until we receive updated reports."

"Alright, we'll join you in the helicopter then." Matt replied.

"Got it, keep in touch." Ace ended the communication.

Matt lowered his arm then looked at Anne and Peyton. "To the helicopter, now."

The three of them had gone to the rooftop where Peyton had left the helicopter. Anne sat next to Matt on the vehicle's backside, Peyton was preparing the systems on the pilot area. "Are you sure you feel well enough to fly now?" Anne asked.

"It's okay." Peyton responded.

Anne put a hand on her shoulder as she was sitting behind her. "Let the hitting and kicking to us, Peyton, you are a pilot, no, the pilot, we need you here."

Peyton smirked subtly then looked at her. "I understand."


	32. Episode 32: Savage Dances

Loonatics: United

Episode 32: Savage Dances

Heather was walking decidedly through a circular hallway which floor was covered with red carpet, then she arrived at the entrance of the club named "Golden Claw", a glowing, yellow sign let her know it was the correct place. Two guards were at the sides of the metallic door, they wore tuxedos, dark glasses and an earphone on their right ear, they were both male, akita dogs. Heather tried to enter casually but the dog at the left blocked her way by putting his hand in front of her.

"Your pass, ma'am." The dog said.

"Oh, sure, uhm…" Heather pretended to look for it inside of her coat, then lowered her shoulders with a false disappointment. "Silly me, I forgot it in the car." She approached him and put a hand on his cheek, then made up a pleading face. "Let me in, honey, I'm sure you don't want me to deal with all those stairs again, do you?"

The guard kept his face straight. "Sorry, no pass, no admission."

Heather sighed, then backed away from him. "Then you give me no choice." She pointed her hands towards the wall behind them and glitched it to make transparent, spike shaped figures to come out from it, with a few pieces of concrete floating on their composition, the spikes went through them, exiting from their chests, gasps of death had come out from their voices, they died instantly.

"Oh." Heather passed by the guard that denied her the entrance moments before and caressed his face mockingly. "It's a pity, you are kinda handsome." She opened the metallic doors with an aggressive kick then entered the club. Electronic music was sounding intensely, the colorful lights and lasers painted the club's young atmosphere, the rich and careless youth of Acmetropolis was reunited on the dance floor, dancing by the rhythm of the bass. Heather was walking hurriedly between the people next to the lounges, she didn't care to push them on her way to her next target, her gaze was focused on the big door that was being guarded by two armed men, who were using black uniforms and held machine guns, they were also male dogs, only that one of them was a german shepherd and the other a dingo. Heather got frustrated by the density of the mass of people she had to go through, she raised her hands and looked at the club's windows, she then clenched her fists and the glass of all of them shattered after a strong noise of explosion, the people got scared and started to disperse while running out of the club, except for some security personal and the canine disc jockey, who hadn't heard or seen the scandal because of the noise of his headphones and the attention he had on his laptop's screen, so the music was still sounding. Heather grinned as she had managed clear the path, then she ran towards the armed men who were still standing next to the door, they got distracted as they were speaking through the microphone of their earphones and didn't anticipate Heather's moves, she made one of them to hit the wall strongly by kicking his chest with both of her feet, she landed and took out her knife then punctured him on the neck, his comrade tried to load his machine gun but he was too slow, Heather punctured his torso several times and left him lifeless just as the other.

The door in front of her needed a code to open, thing she intuited by the numeric terminal she saw next to it. She put both hands over the cold metal of the door and then tilted them carefully, the door got deconstructed in three different pieces that kept floating before her, with gaps between them, she entered by one of the gaps easily and reacted soon enough to crouch at a shot from one of the many guards that were about to confront her in the large, white walled hallway, the lights on the ceiling were strong and dazzling, the guards were protecting an entrance that was behind them and were all dogs like the others Heather had taken care of.

"Stay down! Intruder!" One of the guards warned, pointing his machine gun at her.

Heather ran towards them, they didn't hesitate to fire their weapons at her, she evaded their attacks by sliding over the floor, she got her back against a wall and with a gesture glitched the environment to make a barrier to grow from the floor, it was like a big, transparent cube with pieces of floor floating motionless inside of it, the lasers from the men's guns disappeared when in contact with Heather's improvised protection, she leaned on it, trying to make up another quick plan.

Meanwhile, the jet was flying over the city's immense skyscrapers, wandering under the sky's darkness. "It can't be too long before we get updates on our sneaky target." Ace said, he was sitting on the jet's backside with his belt on, Rev, Slam and Duck shared the same state, different as Tech who was on the pilot seat controlling the winged vehicle, and Lexi was kneeling down in front of Rev, putting a bandage around his hurt leg.

"Ouch! Careful, don't put it too tight or I'll feel pain and not too loose because otherwise it won't work…" Rev got interrupted.

"I'm doing the best I can, Rev! Now shut it for a second." Lexi secured the bandage with a plastic clip. "Is it okay? Or you want me to do it again?" She said sarcastically.

Rev sighed and understood he had overreacted a little. "Sorry, Lexi, is only that…" He groaned by an abrupt pain he suddenly felt on his wound. "This hurts terribly, remember when that hijacker damaged my arms permanently and now I have to use the stupid jetpack to fly just like you?"

Lexi nodded. "Yeah, I remember that."

"Well, this hurts like that time but multiplied by a very high number." Rev replied. "Maybe twelve or more."

"You'll be fine, you're just being a little too dramatic." Lexi patted his leg playfully.

"Yikes! Lexi!" Rev yelled angrily.

Lexi laughed sympathetically. "Alright, alright, you kinda owed me that one for your complaints."

Tech put the jet on automatic pilot by pressing a button on the console then stood up from the seat and went to the backside, he then stretched a little to reach for the small door that was over the seats where Slam and Rev were sitting on, he took a gray box and put it on the floor then knelt down next to it and opened its lid, he took out a blue bandage that glowed slightly.

"Lexi, he'll be better with this, is an experimental gauze I developed a while ago." Tech said while handing her the invention.

"Does that mean I have to undo the other one and work double?" Lexi said with complaint.

"It contains healing molecules, their effects are not permanent but they'll let Rev to run normally while his wound gets cured." Tech explained.

Lexi sighed. "Sure, I mean, that's what friends do or whatever." She undid the bandage and left it on the floor then put the plasticized, blue one Tech had handed to her around Rev's leg, the gauze secured itself automatically then its glow got even brighter.

"How do you feel?" Tech said as he stood up.

"Come on Tech wait some time before asking me that your inventions aren't that f…" Rev's eyes widened as he felt the pain on his leg was gone, he moved it back and forth and then looked at Tech. "Wow that was really fast not faster than me but it definitely matches the concept of fast."

Lexi coughed claiming for credit, she had stood up next to Tech. "Aren't you forgetting something? Rev?"

"Oh sure thanks Lexi I know I can drive people crazy sometimes but you really did a good job with this so thank you for aiding me with my leg." Rev added.

Lexi nodded with a grin of self confidence. "Your welcome."

Ace's wrist started to beep, signaling that there was a transmission incoming. "Ace Bunny." He said through his comm.

"Loonatics, we need your help, a woman came here and made a total mess she is fighting my friends and…" A male voice said.

"Calm down, okay? Where did it happen? Where are you now?" Ace asked rather impatiently.

"The Golden Claw Club, you better come here fast!" The man ended the communication.

"Her next target must be there." Ace stated.

"I know that place, it is not far from here." Duck said. "It's on the Glare tenancy."

"That's where you go when you vanish in the night?" Lexi asked.

"I need to have fun, Lexi, I'm not a machine, you know." Duck replied.

Ace activated his comm and contacted Matt. "We found her, she is in the Golden Claw."

"Where is that?" Matt said from the other side of the line.

"In, uhm, Glare, it is on…" Ace looked at Duck, who was sitting next to him to get more directions.

"Tallest building, tenth floor." Duck described.

"In the tallest building, Matt, I need you three to surveil it from the outside if she manages to escape again, are you cool with that?" Ace asked.

"Sure, we are heading there already." Matt replied.

"Thanks." Ace ended the communication.

A few minutes later, Anne and Matt installed a modest surveillance camp on the rooftop of a building that was in front of the tower where Golden Claw was, the helicopter was behind them as Peyton had landed it there, she was taking a nap in the pilot seat while Matt and Anne were sitting with their legs crossed near the edge of the rooftop, just glancing at the immense, glowing tower. The night was cold so they were both close to each other with a blanket with the A.R.M. logo covering them.

"If this wasn't a top priority mission, it would make a great date." Matt opined.

Anne chuckled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "And why can't it be both?" She kissed his cheek briefly.

"Well, I've been reading articles of the Weekly Merc Magazine and…" Matt got interrupted.

"Oh come on, is that a thing?" Anne asked.

Matt chuckled at her question. "Yes, I know we are not that kind of agency but hey, it's been helpful."

"So, what have you been reading on your weird magazine?" Anne cuddled with him a little bit.

"Well, I read that one has to separate personal stuff from, uhm, the duty." Matt explained.

Anne hugged him. "And where is the fun in that?"

Matt leaned his head on hers gently. "Yeah." He kissed her forehead. "I guess that's a good point."

Anne continued the conversation. "What about Praise? She has been improving her skills, you should give her a chance."

Matt sighed. "I don't know, hon, she is too young and honestly I don't see her on the field, she is more of the artistic type."

Anne nodded. "Yeah but, I've been practicing some fighting moves with her and I can say that she is already keeping up with me."

Matt chuckled briefly. "You even gave her a bodysuit like yours." He touched her arm on the part of the suit that had the red details printed over. "In every aspect."

Anne giggled. "It's just that, I want her to trust me." She said.

Matt nodded. "That could be of help, but is not that easy, specially when she hasn't had anyone to trust in her life."

Anne shook her head. "She needs a family, Matt, and we can be that for her." She took his hand.

Matt looked at her with comprehension. "And I'm all in, hon." He kissed her briefly. "I'm in."

In the meantime, Tech was landing the jet over the heliport of the tower where the Golden Claw was, he managed to land it right on the center, then they all got off the jet and reunited. "Rev, locate her." Ace ordered.

"Sure boss." Rev focused on his global positioning power, he saw blurry images of Heather dodging and blocking the lasers that came from the weapons of the hordes of guards that were confronting her in the hallway. "She is in the club already." He said with a moderate speed in his voice. "Tons of guards, they're fighting her, I can see an office, yeah she wants to enter the office, who is that? A husky, of course, he wears a black suit, the man is scared, that red tie is a little bit much but I guess..."

"Bruce." Duck said, interrupting Rev.

"Do you know who is he talking about?" Ace inquired.

Duck nodded. "He is the club's owner."

Lexi gasped, then looked at Ace. "He is the target."

Tech shook his head with a premature sense of defeat. "She'll kill him." He added.

"Not on our watch." Ace looked at Rev, whose mind was fully back with them. "Can you find a way to reach Bruce before Heather does?"

Rev nodded. "I saw a window with a great view of the city on the office."

"There is it." Ace said then thought briefly, he nodded as he had come up with a plan. "Slam, Lexi, we'll enter the club and deal with Heather while the rest of you reaches the husky from the outside and get him out of there."

"From the outside?" Lexi raised an eyebrow. "But Ace, our jetpacks are toasted."

"It's the only way, if she beats us at least you'd have gotten the man to safety." Ace explained. "And you won't need the jetpacks, there are harnesses and wires in the jet, right Tech?"

"That's correct boss". Tech answered.

"Rev, that window you saw, from where can you three reach it?" Ace asked.

"Oh it's right down here." Rev walked towards a corner of the rooftop. "We can install the gear here and rappel."

"And that's exactly what I want you to do." Ace looked at Tech. "Take out those wires, Doc., Rev will help you install them." He commanded, Tech just nodded and walked towards the jet to get what Ace asked him for.

"Wouldn't this be more easy if I just teleport there? I mean I could just take the guy and end of story." Duck suggested.

Ace put a hand over his chin, thinking about Duck's proposition. "That's actually a good idea, Duck." He smiled at him. "I'm kinda impressed to be honest."

Duck crossed his arms. "I don't know if I'm flattered or offended."

"No time for that, teleport there and take Bruce out of his office, Tech and Rev, the plan is the same for you, just in case Duck can't comply his task." Ace ordered.

"Now I'm sure I'm offended." Duck rolled his eyes, then got out of their sight by teleporting.

"Slam, Lexi, come on." Ace commanded then went to the staircase that led to the inside of the tower, followed by them both.

Tech put the gear on the corner where Rev was. "Okay, this is old school so I might need to…" He stopped talking as Rev had installed the wires and put his harness on in a split of second with his super speed. "Read the manual." He completed the phrase anyway.

Rev handed him his harness. "And that's what I did some of the instructions were in Alumian so that's why it took me a little bit more to do it."

Tech chuckled and put on his harness. "You're always one step ahead, bud."

Bruce was yelling at five of his guards, scolding them furiously. "She is massacring all of you! For what I pay you she shouldn't be a problem any more!" Bruce slammed his fist on his wooden desktop.

One of the guards, an english shepherd lowered his head. "Boss, she is one of those freaks, there's nothing more we can do."

"Come on! Just burn her blasted head with your weapon, that's what you do!" Bruce walked and stood right in front of him.

"It's not that simple." The guard gasped as Bruce put his gun next to his face.

"I'll show you how simple it actually is!" Before Bruce could even think of pressing the trigger, Duck appeared in front of them.

"Bruce!" Duck exclaimed.

Bruce sighed then put down his gun, relieving the guard he had planned to kill. "You too? What do you freaks want from me!" He exclaimed with nervousness.

"Calm down, I'm here to rescue you." Duck said.

Bruce took his gun again and aimed at him, the five guards did the same with their respective weapons. "I don't believe you, this must be some kind of plot, you are with her, you want my money!"

Duck growled and raised both hands. "Just hear me out for a second, we want to take her out of the game, believe me, but now I must take you to a safe place." He tried to get closer to them but Bruce fired his gun at the carpeted floor.

"Don't move!" Bruce said.

"She wants to kill you! Just let me…" Duck teleported behind Bruce and took his arm, one of the guards hit his belly with the tip of his machine gun, preventing him to use his power and making him to fall and groan over the floor.

Bruce knelt down next to him. "My men have this under control, you and your freaky friends have nothing to worry about." He stood up. "If you behave, I might consider sparing your life, I'm not in the mood for a battle with the other morons."

"You would end up losing anyway." Duck said, still rubbing his aching belly.

"Behave!" Bruce kicked his stomach forcefully, making him to gasp with anguish.

On the meantime, Ace, Lexi and Slam were approaching the entrance of the club, they all gasped at seeing the two guards Heather had killed. "Keep moving." Ace said, entering the club followed by the others. The electronic music was still present, same as the lights.

"I hear shooting." Lexi said, having heard Heather's battle with Bruce's guards with her power. "There!" She hurried towards the hallway where the battle was taking place followed by Ace and Slam, they all practically ignored the other two corpses that laid on the floor before the entrance.

"Heather!" Ace yelled, the group of guards recognized him and they all decided to leave the matter to him and the other two heroes at his sides, so the horde of armored dogs just ran to get in the office.

Heather had been hiding on another barrier she had built, she snarled then got out of cover, standing up a few meters ahead of them. "This is not of your business!" She glitched the floor and made two semi-transparent, solid spheres with parts made of the floor's material to float in front of her by moving her hands upwards then she threw them towards the three Loonatics.

Ace pulverized one of them with his laser vision. "If people get harmed, then it's our business!"

"You are so righteou…" Heather got interrupted by a hit of one of her own projectiles as Slam had caught it earlier and threw it at her, she gasped while hitting a wall then fell to the ground. Slam growled with a tone of achievement.

Lexi rushed rapidly to the entrance that led to the office to block it so Heather couldn't get there. "Face it! You've lost!"

Heather stood up and ran towards her then tried to punch her face but Lexi dodged the attack, she then brain blasted her shoulder, making her to scream with pain, Heather didn't stop there and slid her leg to hit Lexi's, she gasped but didn't let the kick to slow her down, she kneeled Heather's side with strength, Ace had approached them so he jumped and took Heather down with him using his own weight. "Hey! Hey that's mine! No!" Heather expressed as she felt Ace trying to take the earring from her ear with his hand, as they were both laying on the ground, Heather took Ace's free arm and started to hurt it with both of her arms, Ace gasped as he felt his arm was breaking and let go Heather's ear, she stood up quickly and kicked his face, leaving him dizzied, she knew Lexi was behind her so she turned around and glitched the wall behind her, getting her trapped with glitched, floating concrete.

Lexi started to shoot her brain blast at her rough prison, Heather tried to attack her to prevent her from getting out of there eventually but she was caught by Slam from a leg.

Rev and Tech were descending carefully with the rappelling gear, they held the cables attached to their harnesses tightly, specially Rev, who looked far more nervous than Tech. "How many floors are left? My neck is aching man." Rev said, he gazed upwards continuously.

"That would change if you lowered your sight for a moment, I mean you are a bird you shouldn't be afraid of heights." Tech replied.

"I'm not the fly type and you know that and I know what your answer will be and that's that I fly with you all the time with the jetpack but wait our jetpacks are not functional now so if we make a single mistake we might end up crushed all over the street like tomat…" Rev got suddenly interrupted.

"Shut up, Rev! Do you always have to be that graphic?!" Tech started to tremble a little bit. "Thanks for the fright, by the way!" They kept descending after letting go the conversation.

Rev decided to lower his gaze a little bit then gasped at seeing Bruce kicking Duck through the great window. "That brat!" Rev said, as Bruce and his guards were watching over Duck, they didn't realize Tech and him were right behind them, hanging at the other side of the glass.

"Break it." Tech commanded, Rev nodded and put both hands on the glass then started to move them really fast, the glass trembled briefly then exploded in pure dust, the noise of the explosion got the immediate attention of Bruce and his men, Tech and Rev quit the cables from their harnesses then hopped to the office, landing graciously after a somersault, then stood up and looked at them, they remained with their harnesses on.

"What now?!" Bruce aimed at them with his gun, the guards mimicked his action.

"He likes to do that a l…" Duck's commentary got unfinished as one of the guards kicked him with no warning.

"Stop hurting him!" Rev demanded. "He wants to help you!"

"We'll take you out of here, like it or not." Tech added.

"Well, make me!" Bruce exclaimed. "Besides, those friends of yours are already handling her as these idiots don't think they're 'capable' to attend the situation." He said to the guards who were at the other side of the room, making them to rub their arms with shame.

"Well I'm sorry to say that they won't be able to stop her for so long." Tech replied.

"Sooner or later…" Rev ran fast towards Duck and carried him, then left him laying on a corner far from Bruce and the others. "She'll come and she'll kill you." He had returned to his previous spot.

"Wha…" Bruce looked back briefly then glared at them again. "You are just weirdos with tricks, that is everything you are, no less no more!" He said while pointing at them with his index finger.

Tech growled at the comment and took a few steps to the front to get closer to him. "We have clear orders, now move or we'll force you to do so!"

Heather was still dealing with Slam, she had managed to free herself from his grasp, but found difficult to keep evading his constant punches which destroyed a part of the floor each time he tried to attack her, Heather glitched the ceiling and formed a solid, partially transparent structure that she then lowered rapidly, putting it right over Slam, caging him completely. Slam roared inside his confinement, he started to punch its inside, aggressively, with notoriously slow effects.

Heather turned and got rapidly in the office, having dealt with the three Loonatics she left neutralized on the hallway. Tech, Rev and Duck, who had recovered and got into his feet saw her from their respective spots, she didn't even let them react as she glitched the glass of the remaining windows and by moving her hand slightly to the left the composition of the glass turned more malleable, with a fast gesture she divided the modified, floating glass in three individual spheres which then threw towards them and got the three of them trapped on the splatted masses of glass, she clenched her fist and with that turned the glass to a full solid state again, getting the remaining Loonatics trapped too, their torsos where totally covered with the transparent matter, Rev tried to run fast to get out because his legs were uncovered, but it was useless as he was strongly adhered against the wall, Tech didn't even try anything.

The guards started to shoot at her with their machine guns, she manipulated the environment surrounding each one of the lasers that went towards her and made them to vanish on the transparent capsule-like structures she had covered them with. She backed both hands and glitched the wall behind her, she grinned by the good streak she was having, then made the mix of concrete and solid ambient to form a big sized hammer, she adopted a position as if she was about to hit them with a real one then just hit them with the floating, improvised weapon and left them unconscious over the floor, she dropped the giant hammer and started to walk towards Bruce who was kneeling down behind his desktop, looking at her terrified. "I've known men who really like to put conditions just for a date, but you Bruce, you are the worst of them all." Heather said.

"Oh shut up with your smart comments." Bruce stood up slowly, trembling and rubbing his hands anxiously, but trying to show braveness nonetheless. "That won't make me pay you." He said with a tone of pride.

"Oh, sweetie, didn't they tell you?" Heather slid over the surface of the desktop and got right in front of him, she then grasped his neck and started to choke him. "I always get what I want." She smashed him on the floor and got him laying on his back, she was kneeling next to him with her hand still grabbing his neck. "You gotta have money hidden here, somewhere." She glitched a small part of the floor next to his ear with her free hand and made a thin cable made of the floor's materials to form by her glitch, she then started to introduce the cable slowly inside his ear.

Bruce moved instinctively by feeling the cable touching his ear. "What the heck?!" The cable started to get deeper, hurting him as she had begun to move her fingers in a way that the cable caused him extreme pain. Bruce started to scream, grabbing her arm to try to free himself from her grasp but she was stronger, he emitted gasps and yells of suffering repeatedly.

Duck was on the hallway throwing orbs at the structure that was holding Lexi, as he had teleported there when Heather got distracted. "I can hear a crack already." He kept throwing the orbs until the structure broke in several pieces, freeing Lexi.

Slam growled from the inside of his own imprisonment, letting Duck know that he also needed help.

"Yeah I'm right on it big guy don't need to rush me you know." Duck started to throw orbs again, this time at Slam's prison, he got immediate help of Lexi, she was brain blasting the structure's surface.

Ace began to stand up, he leaned briefly on one of the walls, looking at the floor trying to undo the dizziness he still felt. When he managed to recover, he saw Lexi and Duck destroying the structure, he joined them and started to shoot his laser vision towards it, seconds later the structure got successfully destroyed by them, getting Slam free, he then growled with thankfulness.

"It's nothing, man." Ace said, then looked at Lexi. "Where's Heather?"

"She is with Bruce." Duck responded.

Ace's eyes widened. "With Bruce?!" He exclaimed, then sighed with disgust and hurried towards the office, followed by Duck, Lexi and Slam. "You should've stayed there fighting her, what were you doing with us?"

"Well, helping you, your welcome, by the way." Duck replied while running next to his boss.

"If you are told to stay with a group you stay with that group no matter what!" Ace scolded him. "Follow orders!"

Duck snarled. "Okay then! Next time I won't help you, in trouble or not, are you happy with that?!"

Ace sighed. "I didn't sa…" They all stopped running when they finally arrived at Bruce's office.

"Under the desk!" Bruce exclaimed when he couldn't stand the pain anymore. "The money is under the desk!"

Heather raised an eyebrow while grinning at him, she took out the cable from his ear. "See? Was it that hard?" She stood up and pushed the table, dropping it carelessly over the floor. She noticed that a part of the carpet was cut in a perfect square and discovered it was a little door as she kneeled down and touched its corners, a laser from Ace prevented her to try to open the door, it burned a piece of carpet.

"It seems you'll get out of here empty handed." Ace said while walking towards her. "I bet you'll still do business on Acmetropolis' prison." Lexi and Duck headed towards Tech and Rev to aid them with their situation.

Heather ignored Ace's comment then aimed her hands at the hammer and took it remotely by manipulating it again, she stood up then hit Ace right on the face with a quick swing, Ace hit the wall then fell down, knocked and weakened by the strength of the hit, Slam growled and tried to smash her with both of his fists but she stopped them with her hands after dropping the hammer, she moved her thumb and suddenly a tiny, glitched spike came right from under Slam's foot, puncturing it, he growled with pain while jumping with the unharmed foot, rubbing and checking the wound on the other.

Lexi and Duck had freed Tech and Rev with success. They got closer to Heather, who was trying to open the door Bruce had revealed. "Enough! Last warning!" Lexi readied her power menacingly.

Tech cornered her from the other side followed by Rev as Duck stood next to Lexi. "You've lost! Face it!" Tech exclaimed, he got uneasy at seeing her finally opening the door.

Heather growled and put both hands on the floor. "You talk too much, Loonatics!" She glitched the floor under their feet and started to make a thick, crystal clear barrier to form, she moved her hands effortfully away from the floor to make the barrier bigger, she made sure to keep Ace and Slam on the other side as well, her hands were fully raised and she started to gasp, exhausted by the task, Lexi was firing her brain blast towards the growing wall but it was too thick, Duck's orbs didn't do any damage either.

Heather lowered her arms rapidly, gasping and looking at the Loonatics from the other side, she let out a chuckle of mockery. "Try to stop me now." Her comment made Tech to punch the transparent wall strongly, furious and with a feeling of impotence, she started to put the money inside her coat, along with some jewelry that occasionally appeared between the wads.

Heather finished emptying the compartment and stood up with her coat full of money, gems and other kind of valuable stuff. She walked towards Bruce who was still laying over the floor and grasped his neck again, he gasped softly with Heather's action as the torture he suffered had left him almost voiceless because of the intense screams, she lifted him and started to walk towards the edge of the room where there was no window anymore, she got the tip of her boots barely beyond the floor, Bruce moved his legs with desperation while seeing the far street below his feet then started to yell at her, having recovered that ability by the fright he was feeling, falling from that height was a more than sure death. "No, no, no, no! Please Heather I beg you! You got your money just let me live! Please!" He exclaimed with struggle as Heather tightened her grasp.

Heather laughed. "I could stay hours here listening to your pathetic pleads, but I got to go." She looked briefly at the Loonatics who were witnessing the whole act with worry, Ace and Slam had got again into their full senses but were also behind the thick wall.

"Heather, don't do it!" Tech exclaimed in a desperate attempt to save the man's life.

Heather grinned and turned her gaze back to her victim. "It was a pleasure to do business with you." She brought him closer to her and kissed his cheek then just let go off his neck, Bruce started to scream with his hand uselessly trying to reach her, his final scream could be heard all the way down to his death, she stood there for a moment then glitched some concrete from the inferior area and made it to float and get right in front of her feet, she got over the piece of concrete and kneeled down over it, with her hands she started to move the made up vehicle away from the building, getting out of their sight eventually.

Ace hit the wall the same way Tech had done, he activated his comm to speak with Matt. "We lost her again, Matt, tell me you man…"

"We are right behind her tail already, she is heading to the Entrepreneur District." Matt replied, he and his team were on the helicopter chasing Heather.

"Thanks, don't lose sight of her, we'll catch up later." Ace said then started to take deep breaths to calm himself down. When he got through his emotion, he glared at the team. "To the vehicle, now." He commanded.

"We'll get her this time." Lexi approached him and put a hand over his shoulder reassuringly, secretly sharing the same feeling of unending defeat.

Ace sighed. "I hope so." He looked at her, trying to hide the unrest in his eyes. "I really hope so."

"That's all we need." Lexi looked at the rest. "You heard him, get moving."


	33. Episode 33: Strength And Weakness

Loonatics: United

Episode 33: Strength And Weakness

The Entrepreneur District was a zone of Acmetropolis where the richest and influential lived, the area's aesthetic was far more clean and delicate than the one that the rest of the city had, the streets consisted in permanently floating platforms which sides held large lianes that decorated the place's empty space, on the bottom there was no ground but water instead, it was illuminated by underwater blue lights, the locals had put the water there to create a fake sense of nature, and it was also a deliberate attempt to differentiate themselves from the rest of the city´s population. The color of the buildings didn't vary as they were all gray, extravagant shaped edifices. Heather was contemplating such landscape from her flat and rocky vehicle, she kneeled down and put both hands on the surface then manipulated it to move towards the area along with her, she moved her hands forward and the piece of concrete started to move faster, flying already over the water below the hovering streets. She felt a quick pain on her head, gasping by the intensity of it, she blinked a few times as she felt her sight had gotten blurry, when she managed to see clearly again, she heard sirens behind her, she turned her gaze back and saw three cops riding hover bikes chasing her, the bikes were green and had an emblem of the city painted on their surface, the cops wore green uniforms and helmets.

"Heather Stanton, as members of Acmetropolis' Honorific Police, we have enough authority to arrest you!" One of the cops, a female raccoon who was between the other two warned through the mic of her helmet, her vehicle had a built in speaker that amplified her voice.

Heather braked her simple vehicle and turned to face them. "Rich police for rich scum, how convenient." She joked then tried to glitch their vehicles with a gesture but the headache returned and this time the glitch deviated towards the buildings at the sides which started to decompose weirdly and some of their parts began to collapse and fall to the water strongly.

The raccoon stopped accelerating then took off her helmet, revealing her red hair which was ponytailed, she looked at the falling pieces of building then gazed at Heather again while pressing a button on her hover-bike's steering wheel which made the vehicle's machine gun to start to fire lasers, Heather aimed her hands to the front and covered some of the lasers on glitched environment but failed to do so with the rest of them and one hit her arm and the other her leg, she yelled with pain and put one knee over the concrete.

"Enough tricks!" The raccoon exclaimed. "Surrender immediately!"

Heather couldn't listen the woman's words, she had both hands over her head, her eyes were closed and her bite was tight. "What is happening?" She mumbled. "That scammer, that freaking scammer he told me this…" She gasped by the pain. "…device was new."

The raccoon started to rub the steering wheel's fire button. "Last warning!"

Heather snarled. "Shut up!" She stood up with effort and glitched the vehicles of the cops at the sides and made them to malfunction, smoke started to come out from the bikes as each one headed violently towards a building, the cops jumped off the vehicles and got safely in the body of water, the hover-bikes impacted on the buildings and exploded, damaging their structure by creating great holes on them which let the water to get inside.

"Guys! Are you okay?" The raccoon said, having turned her vehicle towards the incident.

One of the swimming cops took out his helmet, he was a white tiger. "We'll be fine, Rebecca! Don't let her go!" He said while pointing at Heather who was getting away from them, flying over her rock with a face of pain as she was using her ability to move the rock forward. Rebecca turned again and continued to chase her with her bike, activating the sirens.

The jet of the Loonatics was arriving at the situation. "Ace, she's attacked." Tech said while seeing the two cops swimming away from the damaged buildings towards the middle of the path of water.

Ace took off his security belt and got on the cockpit next to Tech, glancing at the buildings that were leaning slowly. "This is bad." Ace turned to face Duck. "Duck! Rev! Jump out and get the people safe!" He pressed a button on the console in front of Tech, opening the back door of the jet.

Duck stood up from his seat after removing the lock of the belt. "What people?" He said as Rev stood up and got quickly by him.

Ace walked towards them and put a hand on their backs forcing them to walk towards the edge of the exit. "Falling buildings, water, build something up with that." He pushed them, making them to fall safely on the water as Tech had lowered the jet to a reasonable distance from there.

"You didn't have to do that!" Duck yelled with his fist raised towards his boss, the jet left the area quickly while getting on a higher altitude.

Ace got his snout over the comm on his wrist. "Matt, we are here, she has gotten things ugly already." He got answered by Matt almost immediately.

"Sorry, Ace, we had to arrive at the district by other route to retain discretion, did someone get hurt?" Matt asked.

Ace sighed. "Duck and Rev are on it, where are you?"

"Just surveilling from above, we haven't g…" Matt stopped talking to reformulate his response. "I see her again, Peyton, follow her, full speed." Ace managed to hear Matt's orders with the help of the comm's speaker.

"What? Where is she?" Ace said impatiently.

"Peyton is tracking her movement, we'll send you the live lectures." Matt replied.

"We've got her on the radar!" Tech informed from the cockpit.

"Thanks, Matt, it's done, see you there." Ace cut off the conversation.

Duck and Rev were floating in the water in front of one of the two holes that Heather had made on the parallel buildings. "This one first, Duck, clear the path for me and I'll get' em out." Rev said.

"As you wish." Duck raised his hands then put them over the water. "Aqua Dense!" The level of water started to descend to the point were they got their feet on solid ground, Duck moved his hand slightly backwards and made the water from the inside of both of the buildings to come out and regroup with the waterway, leaving a clear path for Rev.

"I'll be back in a second." Rev ran rapidly into the first building, he exited from it carrying a pair of people and left them at safety on the floating street after a quick rush over the buildings structure, he went down again and entered the edifice, repeating the move a couple of times and getting more people safe on the hovering platform, he then went for the people inside the second building and applied the same strategy. When he was done with the civilians he took the cops with him and left them on the same spot with the rest of the people.

Duck gasped as he was starting to get tired. "Hurry up you feathered…" Rev got in front of him rapidly.

"Okay there are no more people inside they're up ther…" Rev got interrupted by the amount of water Duck let fall over them. Rev swam to the surface and got his head out of the water with continuous breath ins and outs.

"Oh, I'm so sorry man, I thought you had finished at 'Okay'." Duck said sarcastically, Rev just gave him a look of discontent.

On the meantime, Heather was approaching a big, luxurious house over an artificial hill, she grinned as she knew her target was there, her smile disappeared when the unbearable headache returned. "No, no, not again!" She stopped moving and knelt down over her rock then put both hands over it, she let out a scream of intense pain and the earring started to shake, a massive wave of yellow and orange light came from it, hitting the entire district.

The Jet trembled with the wave's hit, some lights went off briefly and intermittently but got normal when the vehicle got stable again. "What the heck was that?" Ace inquired, hoping for Tech to provide an answer.

"I have no idea." Tech replied.

Ace sighed and went where Tech. "Damage report."

"She took it quite nicely." Tech pressed a button on the console and a green, three-dimensional map of the district appeared on a screen, displaying a group of five buildings signalized with a red color. "I can't say the same for these." Tech pointed at the buildings on the screen.

Ace shook his head with disbelief. "Rev, Duck, status?" He said through his comm.

Rev was running at full speed on the floating street. "We saved them boss." He said. "Oh, and a strange wave hit us not so long ago."

"Yeah, same here, listen, that wave made serious damage to more buildings, I'm sending you the location, we'll meet there." Ace commanded.

"Sure boss, let's give her time to finish the job." Duck said, he was swimming fast in the waterway, increasing his speed with his Aqua Dense ability.

Ace growled. "There are more people in danger, Duck! The priority is to alw…"

Duck chuckled with a subtle tone of mockery. "I know, man, I'm just messing with you."

Ace sighed and turned off his comm. "Just get us there, Doc."

Meanwhile, Matt and the rest of A.R.M. were still inside the chopper, approaching the apartment Heather was heading towards. "I think she hit the primary systems." Peyton said while struggling to maintain stability. "I have to land."

Matt nodded. "Okay." He stood up a little bit and pointed at a spot on the grassed hill where the house was. "Right there, we'll arrive unnoticed."

Peyton nodded. "Yes, boss."

Matt sat down again. "Listen, the plan is simple, we break into the place, look for Heather and take that earring." He got his wrist near of his muzzle. "Ace, she is in our reach, we'll need your help soon."

"We'll be there, Matt, just hold on, we got a situation here." Ace replied.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "What? What happened?"

Ace sighed. "Some buildings got damaged." He explained from the other side of the line. "A wave of energy came out from nowhere and made a huge mess here."

"Yeah, we got hit too." Matt said. "It was her."

"Of course." Ace expressed. "Okay, wait for us to attend this thing and we'll be there with you in no time."

Peyton landed the helicopter on the spot Matt had told her to do so, she looked through the lateral window and saw Heather from the distance, she was standing up effortfully from the ground, she then got out of her sight by walking uphill towards the house. "She is moving." Peyton warned.

"I don't think we can wait much, Ace." Matt said. "We are getting in, we'll keep you updated."

"No, Matt, y…" Ace's voice stopped coming out of the comm's speaker as Matt just turned it off.

Anne shook her head while looking at him. "He won't be happy for that, hon."

Matt sighed. "I know, but there's no time to lose." He stood up and jumped out of the chopper, followed by Anne. Peyton turned the systems off and remained inside the vehicle. "If you need back up, just contact me." She told them.

Anne nodded. "Don't worry, Peyton, we'll be back soon."

"Matt!" Ace exclaimed with disgust, putting his snout more closer to his comm. "Matt!" He repeated.

Tech landed the jet on the floating pathway then looked at Ace, waiting for an order. "Is here."

Ace growled and turned his comm off. "Right." He got out of the cockpit to instruct Lexi and Slam, who had stood up and taken off their security belts. "Big guy, I need you to do a general check on the buildings with a tornado, you understand?"

Slam growled affirmatively while crossing his arms.

"Good." Ace looked at Lexi. "Lexi, you and I will look for cracks on the bottom of the edifices, we'll seal them with the heat of our powers." He turned and look at Tech who had gotten at his side. "Doc, you will help us two by strengthening the structures with all the metal you can gather."

Slam hit the button on the vehicle´s ceiling and the jet's door opened.

They jumped out of the jet one by one then the door closed automatically behind them. They were all standing over the floating street, looking at the slowly collapsing buildings. "Do the honors, Slam." Lexi said then Slam nodded and with his tornado flew sloppily towards the edifices.

"Rev, Duck, we ne…" Ace got interrupted by Rev's sudden presence.

"Perfect timing, right?" Rev said.

Ace sighed and lowered his arm as it was pointless for him to keep using the communicator. "Maybe a little late, actually." The comment just made Rev to chuckle subtly.

Duck managed to see a wing of the jet from underwater so he impulsed himself with his Aqua Dense moves and jumped out of the water then landed over a knee in front of the team flawlessly. "You missed me?" Duck stood up.

"You know the answer to that." Lexi responded with a serious look.

Duck put a cocky face. "Then it's a yes, my dear." He expressed jokingly.

"Enough." Ace said. "You two, get inside those buildings and rescue all of the people."

"Basically the same thing we just did a while ago, correct?" Rev asked.

"Correct, Rev, now go!" Ace ordered a bit upset.

"Okay I'm on it I mean we're on it you don't have t…" Rev's phrase went unfinished as he rushed towards the buildings, getting inside one by passing through one of the several big cracks it had on its facade.

Ace looked at Duck. "What are you waiting for?"

"Oh, sure, uhm, Aqua Dense." Duck said dryly then dived into the water again and swam towards a hole that led to one of the buildings' inside, he entered rapidly with an impulse and left a trace of bright, orangey bubbles behind him, he got out of the water with a jump and landed on an elegant floor made of marble, partially flooded and with the level of water increasing slowly. Duck walked towards a sign next to the elevator, it had some warnings about using it, he smiled at discovering it didn't warn anything about using it during floods. "Well, gotta trust the signs, Duck." He pressed the button to go up and the elevator's door opened.

Ace nodded at being sure Duck had complied. "Alright, Lexi." He looked at his girlfriend. "Let's go."

Slam returned with them aided by his tornado, he started to growl explaining what he had found.

"Critical? All of them?" Tech asked.

Slam nodded and snarled affirmatively.

"Okay, thanks Slam." Ace said. "Tech, Slam will help you search for scraps, Lexi and I are doing as planned."

Tech nodded with commitment. "Understood, boss."

"How are we going to get down there?" Lexi inquired.

"You said you wanted to take diving lessons, didn't you?" Ace replied.

"Uhm, yeah but…" Lexi's eyes widened as Ace had taken her hand and ran towards the street's edge. "Hey but I didn't mean t…" Ace jumped with her and they both started to fall towards the waterway until they submerged. After a moment they both got their heads out of the water, Ace breathed in and out a couple of times and Lexi spat out a generous quantity of water she had accidentally got in her mouth. "You never do that again!" Lexi exclaimed upset.

Ace chuckled. "Sorry, love." He looked at the building in front of them, he instantly noticed the vertical crack that came all the way from the last floor to the first one. "That's a big one, Lexi, shoot!" He started to shoot his laser vision towards the crack, Lexi did the same with her brain blast.

The crack started to reseal slowly by the melting material they were both heating up. "Keep going!" Lexi said after a gasp.

Rebecca was on the apartment's rooftop, she had followed Heather and A.R.M. there, she walked towards one of the edges and crouched to look down, she saw Heather approaching the wall below, she moved a little bit backwards to prevent herself from getting caught but her sight was still focused on Heather who aimed both hands towards the wall and glitched it, she groaned with pain but managed to resist it then just pulled the wall by moving her arms to the back, she let the glitched wall to fall behind her, Rebecca just kept looking, Heather got in the apartment by walking through the entrance she had just made.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow and got fully into her feet, she then sat on the edge of the rooftop with her legs facing the other side, she took a deep breath and jumped to hold from a pipeline that was a few meters over the ground with a hand then she just let go off the pipeline and landed safely in front of the entrance Heather made.

Slam was hovering with the help of his tornado over the two corners of the floating street, gathering all the lampposts he could carry in the process. He stopped right in front of Tech who had his hands pointing towards several cracks on one of the buildings. "Ready?" Tech asked.

Slam growled affirmatively and threw the lampposts towards the cracks.

Tech held the lampposts in the air with his magnetic ability and gasped a bit by their weight, he pushed them onto the cracks and started to bent them in a way that they were starting to serve as a structural support. "Almost…there…" He clenched his fists and put them together to conclude the task, he then stopped using his power and the building stood stable by the support he and Slam had created. "Well, this one is done." Tech said, sighing repeatedly.

Duck was on the hallway of the first floor of the building, he had managed to take out all of the people of that floor from their apartments, but they were refusing to leave the building. "People! Come on! I have to get you out of here!"

A male fox from the crowd walked past everyone and stood in front of them, facing Duck. "If you didn't know, this building was built with the finest m…" The sudden shake of the edifice interrupted the fox's words.

"You were saying?" Duck inquired sarcastically.

"Okay, I'm going with you." A female wolf said. "But I need to take my stuff first."

"Yeah! I'll do that to!" A male voice from the crowd exclaimed, making the rest of the people to adopt the same opinion and start arguing at the same time.

Duck put a hand on his face and let out a sigh. "There's no time for that!" His voice couldn't be heard by the amount of noise the crowd's words were making." Duck knelt down and took a deep breath. "You leave me no choice, then." He put both hands on the floor and started to feel the humidity on it then pictured all the water that surrounded the building's base. "Aqua Dense." He started to make the water of the waterway to form into big, arm like structures, he ascended them to get in front of the window behind the crowd.

"What the…" Ace said while feeling the water level going down and seeing the things Duck had formed with the water.

"I bet it's Duck." Lexi said. "Quite impressive, honestly."

Duck moved his hands backwards and the water made arms broke the window and went inside, he then grabbed the people with them and took them out of the building, placing them safely over the floating street.

"My dress! Ruined!" The female wolf stood up while looking at the continuous dripping of her green dress.

Duck stopped using his ability, making the arms of water to break and regroup with the rest of the water on the waterway. He got into his feet then leaned over a wall after a gasp of exhaustion, he activated his comm to speak with Rev. "First floor is clear."

Rev responded immediately from the other side of the line. "Same as the other twenty nine and I actually got time to clear the other buildings as well I felt kind of in a spree so I just did it but don't worry I'm sure you did a good job w…"

"Okay! I get it, Rev! I'll see you down there." Duck deactivated his comm. "Smug." He backed away from the wall and teleported from the building to the floating street.

Ace and Lexi were still on the water, sealing the last cracks of the building they had been taking care of with their powers, Tech used his magnetic ability to place one last patch of metal pieces Slam had helped him to make over a building's ruptured space, Rev was just watching on the hovering street along with Duck. Ace stopped firing his laser vision then Lexi did the same with her brain blast, all the cracks had been sealed. "We're done here." Ace said. "Duck! A little help!" He yelled while looking at his comrade from below. Duck rolled his eyes then teleported to the waterway, he appeared between Ace and Lexi and placed a hand on each one's shoulder then teleported them to the floating street along with himself. "Thanks, man."

"Yeah, yeah, what else can I do but to be your personal taxi cab?" Duck replied.

Ace ignored Duck's sarcastic comment then Tech and Slam met with them. As the team was fully reunited, he pointed at the jet to give his next command. "Everyone! To the jet! Now!" He ordered. "We gotta stop her before Matt and company run out of chances." They all started to hurry towards the vehicle then got inside the jet, Rev was already sitting on the back side with his belt on.

"Why it took you so long?" Rev said jokingly.

"Not now, Rev." Lexi said and sat down next to him.

On the meantime, Heather was walking across the living room of the house she had broke into, the furniture was rustic and the walls dark green, with old paintings hung over them, she looked at her surroundings and raised her hands then felt a painful headache again, she gasped and put both hands over her head, making the house to glitch and its rooms and hallways to mix together and get all over the place, some stuff like more furniture and several collectible objects fell down product of her sloppy attack.

Matt and Anne were standing up as they had fallen to the ground by the glitch, they were inside a hallway that was floating above Heather because of the glitch. "Are you okay, hon?" Matt inquired.

"I think so." Anne said while rubbing her head. "Look!" She pointed at Heather who was kneeling down over the living room's black carpet, groaning by the constant pain.

"She made it easy for us." Matt hopped from the glitched hallway to the living room area followed by Anne, they both landed safely on the floor.

"What…what happened." A male lion who wore a black suit said, he was laying on the floor of his room which had gotten right next to the living room thanks to the attack, a wall had disappeared by the same matter so he could see Heather when he managed to stand up. "Heather?!" He began to approach her while looking around, confused. "What the heck is going on?!" He spotted Matt and Anne. "Oh great, now you got a gang?"

Matt took a step at the front. "We are the Active Risk Management agency, sir." He explained. "We are here to stop her."

The lion frowned. "And you are doing a wonderful job!" He pointed at the most glitched areas with his hands then looked back at them. "Congratulations! Just look at this mess! She ruined my home!"

Heather recovered from the pains she had been feeling and stood up. "I'm not here to destroy your house, Leonard." She turned and walked towards him. "I'm here to take what's mine."

"Oh, and what would that be, pretty?" Leonard said while crossing his arms.

"Money!" Heather exclaimed and grasped the cloth of his suit under the neck. "You owe me money! Scum!"

"What the heck are y…" Leonard rolled up his eyes. "The holo-soccer match, now I remember." He took her hand and moved it to make her let go off his jacket. "The referee got paid, and you know that."

"And?! It's not my fault!" Heather punched him in the face, making him to fall to the floor. "Where is my money! Leo!"

Matt hurried and got closer to her, taking out his laser gun from the holster and aiming it at her. "Don't move or I shoot!"

Heather sighed and turned to face him. "Can't you just leave me alone for t…" She screamed and got on her knees again, Matt took advantage of that and rushed towards her, he grabbed her arms from behind and tried to lift her up but she threw a random punch and hit his snout, she stood up and hurried towards Leonard who had just got up, she was suddenly hit on the face by a flying kick, courtesy of Rebecca, the raccoon agent of A.H.P.

Heather laid on the floor, stunned by the unexpected hit. Matt rushed towards her and crouched to get the earring but Heather glitched the floor with a gesture and made it to become ramp shaped which made Matt to fall down to the other side of the room, Heather stood up and Rebecca confronted her.

"There's nowhere you can hide." Rebecca adopted a fighting position, Heather just growled and jumped at her, sending them both to the ground.

"I'm tired of you! I shall kill you right now!" Heather raised her hand and before she could try to glitch Rebecca, a red rush appeared on her place, then Heather snarled at discovering Rebecca had vanished. "Loonatics!" She exclaimed with anger and stood up.

Rev had taken Rebecca to a safer area, a terrace that was partially mixed with a guest room due to the glitch. "Don't worry you're safe now let the profe…" As he was kneeling down and holding her with both arms, he got speechless while looking at her eyes. "Uhm, I…"

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Wait, I know you."

"Oh, really!" Rev grinned.

"Yeah." Rebecca replied. "You are one of those heroes, uhm, what's the name?"

"Oh." Rev laid her on the ground for a moment and stood up then offered her his hand, helping her to get into her feet. "I'm Rev Runner member of the Loonatics my superpower is basically running really fast and sorry what's your name?"

Rebecca chuckled as she had never heard anyone talking that fast. "I'm Rebecca Moon." She extended her hand. "It's a pleasure."

Rev shook her hand nervously. "T…Th…The pleasure is…mine."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Oh sorry maybe you´ve noticed I talked a bit slower for a moment I think it happens when I get nervous like when I meet a beautiful girl and…" Rev hit himself on the forehead after saying that. "No, Rev that was supposed to stay in your head now you'll freak her out!"

Rebecca let out a laugh. "You are funny."

"Sorry I…" Rev looked at her with confusion. "Like, for real?"

Rebecca just sighed and chuckled softly. "Thank you for saving me, by the way."

"Oh." Rev did a gesture of modesty. "It's nothing." He gasped. "Saving, my friends need my help." He left after a red blur then returned immediately with her. "Stay here." He left her again, leaving the same trace of red blur behind him.

Matt managed to climb the ramp Heather had improvised with the glitched floor, he began to run towards her. Heather was about to attack Leonard with her claws but she got suddenly hit by Lexi's brain blast on the arm, she groaned and backed away from him, Anne rushed towards her and threw several punches at her face then knelt her stomach, Matt hit her side with his elbow, throwing her onto a nearby wall which she broke in half with the impact, due to Matt's super strength.

Slam roared and with a few jumping steps approached her and grabbed her with his clenched fist then threw her upwards, Duck took the chance to teleport next to her while she was still on the air and rapidly took the earring from her ear then teleported back to his previous spot, standing next to Ace. Heather fell strongly on the floor, not even cushioned by the carpet's soft texture in the slightest. She groaned and laid on her side then started to get up while rubbing her arm. She got fully into her feet and looked at Ace and Duck. "You…will…" She coughed. "Die now." Heather backed her hands then moved them fast towards them, waiting for a deadly glitch to happen. She looked at her hands, confused and disappointed. "Wha…" She gasped then touched her ear, noticing her earring was gone. "Oh b…" She got hit by Rev's rush abruptly then he appeared next to Ace after the red trace. "Did I miss something?"

"Perfect timing, Rev." Ace said with a smirk.

Heather hit a wall and then fell down, Tech used his powers to manipulate a metallic, abstract statue that was on a corner and transformed it in a flat, metal disc which he then moved towards her and wrapped it around her so she couldn't move any muscle.

"Ace." Duck handed him the earring.

Ace looked at the device, then he dropped it. "We've had enough of this." He stepped on it, breaking it into several tiny pieces.

"No!" Heather screamed after hearing the crack.

"Good job, team." Ace said then looked at Heather. "She will spend a long time in prison."

Matt and Anne approached him. "We'll take care of that, Ace." Matt said.

"I'm taking your word, bud." Ace replied.

"Thank you all for saving my life!" Leonard walked towards them and stood in front of them. "How will I ever pay you? Do you accept quasar linium lingots?"

Ace chuckled while shaking his head. "There's no need for that, sir, we…" He was interrupted by Duck who approached them and stood between them.

"What my partner wants to say is that we'll conform with a dinner at Sapphire´s." Duck proposed.

"Duck!" Ace scolded him with an upset tone.

Duck raised his shoulders. "What?"

"Sapphire's." Leonard scratched his chin. "It happens that the owner is my cousin so I just have to call him and I'll get you all a table on the rooftop, what do you think?"

"You see it, guys?" Duck turned to look at his comrades. "Destiny!"

Ace sighed then grinned gratefully at Leonard. "If you insist." He finally chose to accept the offer.

"Splendid." Leonard took out his phone to do the call.

Rev gasped as he remembered Rebecca was waiting for him at the terrace so he rushed quickly towards the place and found that she was still there waiting for him. "Hi."

"Hi." Rebecca said.

"Uhm, we…" Rev scratched his nape. "We did it, she is beaten, Heather will spend most of her life behind bars from now."

"Oh, that's great." Rebeca replied. "Did she hurt you? I mean I could hear all the mess from here."

"Oh I'm perfectly fine thank you." Rev looked at his wounded leg. "Well technically my leg is severely wounded but my friend is a genius, so."

Rebecca chuckled. "You are all so, interesting." She put a hand on his shoulder, making him to blush. "Well, not like in a science experiment way but just, uhm, interesting." She smirked.

"Uhm I…I was going to tell you if you wanted to come with me and my friends to, uhm, Sapphire´s, the rich guy is inviting us so, maybe, you could, uhm…" Rev pulled the piece of cloth of his suit that covered his neck as he was getting nervous again. "Yeah."

"I don't know." Rebecca looked away. "I better go back to the station to fill some reports and…"

"Please." Rev said. "I know that sounded weird and desperate but you seem like someone good to have a conversation with, you know, it's just something I, uhm, intued." Rev lowered his head as he felt awkward.

Rebecca got thoughtful for a moment, then just let out a sigh of acceptance and nodded. "I guess those reports can wait."

"Yes!" Rev exclaimed then looked at her with regret as he thought he had just spoken too loudly. "Sorry, I mean, cool."

The Loonatics and Rebecca, Rev's new friend, were sharing a table on the place that Leonard promised them, the rooftop of Sapphire´s, a luxurious restaurant that was on the top of a tall building in Acmetropolis' downtown. The sun of the morning was starting to show as the mission had taken the whole night. "You brought her there already?" Ace inquired through his comm.

"Yeah." Matt, who was on the other side of the bars of Heather's cell, put his comm close to them. "Wanna say hi?" He looked at Heather who was sitting over a cot, wearing an orange uniform, she just ignored Matt's joke. Matt put his comm back in front of his snout. "I think you underestimate us a bit sometimes."

Ace chuckled. "I'd never do that, Matt." He replied. "Thanks for your help, take care." He ended the communication, then tilted his head towards Lexi with his gaze on Rev and Rebecca. "They're getting along quite fast." He looked at Lexi. "Don't you think?"

Lexi glanced at them, Rev offered Rebecca a bit of his food with his fork and put it on her mouth, making her to chuckle a little. "Well, it's Rev who we are talking about, so, it's kinda expected."

Ace laughed. "That's true." He looked at the early sun of the morning. "I'm glad Duck didn't just keep his beak shut this time."

Meanwhile, on Acmetropolis' prison, Quentin was sitting at his metallic desktop inside of his cell, soldering a tiny metallic marble over the surface of a circular device, also small sized. His ear twitched when one of the guards knocked the bars of the cell with his truncheon. "It's lunch time, loser!" Quentin left his work pending and stood up from the chair then exited when the guard opened the door for him. The guard took him to the dining room, he got in line after taking a tray from the pile, they served him the food then he looked for a place to sit and found Magnus sitting at one of the tables on the corner of the room, devouring his food.

"May I?" Quentin asked while approaching him.

Magnus growled. "I don't care, you'll stay anyway."

Quentin nodded. "Good point." He sat down in front of him and put the tray over the table. "You know, I was skeptical about the new menu, but after tasti…"

Quentin slammed the table with his fist. "Get to the point! Fox!"

"Okay, okay, calm down." Quentin said. "I have excellent news, Magnus."

"Which are?" Magnus said with the mouth full as he had munched the chicken leg he was holding.

"We might've just found a new ally." Quentin said. "Powerful, unmerciful." He thought about another adjective. "Beautiful."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nevermind." Quentin sighed and tried to remember the name of who he was talking about, his eyes widened when the name came to his mind. "Heather…"

"Stanton?" Magnus inquired.

"Yes." Quentin replied. "The panther."

Magnus shook his head. "She is done, I heard she lost her powers."

"No." Quentin said while standing up. "Correction, she lost what gave her her powers, but what if a technological mastermind was creating a much, much better replacement right now?"

Magnus sighed and put his hand on his face. "Tell me you're joking."

"I never joke, Magnus." Quentin responded. "A cataclysm is coming, my friend." Quentin sat back down. "And we are the ones who're bringing it to the city, you, me and her, no one will stop us, not even those filthy Loonatics."


	34. Episode 34: Eclipsed Subversion

Loonatics: United

Episode 34: Eclipsed Subversion

Quantal, a modern, almost abstract city built in Acmetropolis' desert zone, with polygonal buildings with glowing, blue shapes decorating their white walls, where there was no concrete covering the sandy ground, people there dressed the same way, gray bodysuits with blue details, decision made by their leader, Adam, the white furred cat that came to life thanks to Quentin, but who decided to find his role by himself, and he found it, he gathered all of the people of the marginated zone of Acmetropolis and gave them a new home in Quantal, making them citizens of his ambitious creation, a place out of the government of Acmetropolis, thing that the president German Gillian accepted by declaring Quantal as an independent tenancy with the condition that Acmetropolis could do constant surveillance on the management of the independent city without warning, Adam had to accept the deal to avoid having trouble and putting his people and Acmetropolis' at risk.

There had been rumors of people disappearing on Quantal, some information even claimed acts of torture and death warrants happening there, German Gillian knew he had to take immediate action and initiate a more in deep investigation, so he asked Rebecca Moon for help to spy on them and find out what was going on.

There she was, blending in the population as she walked between the crowd on Quantal's market, a place with a central plaza with benches and a spike shaped statue on the middle, surrounded by several stands which were closed at that time as it was late night, she didn't get caught as her uniform of the Acmetropolis' Honorific Police was gray just as the suits of the people of Quantal, she was looking for a woman called Bridget, a badger that reported the disappearance of her husband, Denton, also a Badger. Rebecca found the little house of the woman a few blocks away from the market, it consisted in a tall but compact building that shared the same design as the others in the city, it had a door made of opaque glass, she knocked the door and Bridget opened it, she had long, brown hair and her eyes widened at seeing Rebecca as she recognized the A.H.P. logo on her jacket.

"Oh, good night." Bridget said. "Please, come in before someone sees you." She let Rebecca enter the house and Bridget looked at the sides on the street before closing the door.

Rebecca sat down on a rock made couch inside the homely room, illuminated by a blue, glowing sphere attached to the ceiling. "Is someone following you? Ma'am?" She said, noticing the anxiety on the woman.

"I'm not sure." Bridget said and sat down in front of her. "But is better to be cautious."

Rebecca extended her hand. "Rebecca Moon, agent of Acmetropolis' Honorific Police."

Bridget shook her hand. "Oh, thank you very much for coming, I'm Bridget, Bridget Norris."

Rebecca nodded. "It's a pleasure, ma'am." She began to formulate her questions. "So, what was the last you knew about your husband?"

Bridget scratched her chin, delaying a little to provide an answer. "Days ago, he stole some food from the market and got arrested." She sighed. "He accepted his condemn, same as me." She lowered her gaze. "Two years in the dungeon."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Then, what happened?"

"I promised him to visit him on the dungeon every day." Bridget replied. "And I did so from the very first day." Her voice started to sound broken.

Rebecca put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Calm down." She said. "Just tell me."

Bridget sobbed. "My Denton wasn't there, I asked the guards why but they ignored me and prohibited me the entrance permanently." She breathed deeply to calm herself down. "Then I sent the report to Gillian, that's pretty much it."

"And I'm here to help you." Rebecca said. "Have you spoken with the king?"

"Adam?" Bridget said. "I tried to tell him but the guards on the castle's door didn't let me pass."

"Well, you don't have to worry." Rebecca gave her a smirk of hope and sympathy. "We'll talk to him tomorrow, I guarantee you that."

"Really?" Bridget looked at her with tears on the corner of her eyes. "How?"

Rebecca smirked. "Let's say, I know people."

Ace was walking around the lounge while speaking through his comm. "Like, now?" He inquired. "With all due respect, I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. President." He sighed. "Yes, but maybe we co…" Ace sat down on a couch in front of his comrades. "Sure, we'll go." Ace said. "We'll keep in touch, sir, good night." He yawned and looked at the team.

"And?" Duck asked. "Can I finally go to sleep?"

Ace shook his head and stood up then activated his comm again. "He didn't listen, Matt, we must go there now."

Duck looked at Tech. "We are staying, aren't we?" Tech rolled his eyes, ignoring the question.

Ace sighed and activated his jetpack. "Get ready, we are going to Quantal."

"Qu-what?" Duck raised an eyebrow. "In what planet is that?"

"Here, is the city Adam built a while ago." Ace headed towards a wall next to the window and pressed a button on it then the window opened automatically before them. "It was just about time."

"What happened?" Lexi asked. "Did German change his mind?"

Ace shook his head. "There have been reports of disappearances, we have to find out what's going on."

Rev got next to him in a split of second, with his jetpack ready. "Don't worry boss let's see the bright side my girlfriend is there right now so it's going to be an affable mission!" He said. "Because, you know, I like to be with her."

"Yes, Rev, you got a girl." Tech said while approaching them and activating his jetpack. "We heard you the first one hundred times."

Lexi, Duck and Slam walked towards the window. Slam growled with a tone of question.

"I don't know, Slam." Ace replied. "Hours, days."

"What?!" Duck exclaimed. "I have things to do, man!"

"We'll solve this fast, Duck." Ace said. "Adam is our friend, I'm sure he'll clarify everything." He exited the HQ by flying with his jetpack, the team followed him afterwards.

While flying, Duck approached Lexi to talk about the mission. "So, you think Ace is right? That we'll be leaving soon?"

Lexi sighed. "Duck, we'll be there as long as necessary." She replied. "Besides, my diplomatic abilities shall come in handy."

"Diplomatic abilities, don't just make things up, Lexi." Duck argued. "I have a better way to end this." He cooked two orbs on his hands.

Tech joined the conversation as he had heard Duck's proposition. "Don't you even think so, Duck, we have enough problems without a war between cities!" He scolded.

Duck thought for a moment, then growled and dropped his orbs. "Okay, do your diplo-boring stuff."

"It's diplomatic, Duck." Lexi said.

Duck snarled. "I know! I was joking!" He grunted again and flew away from them to get out of the talk.

"Thanks for driving him away." Lexi told Tech.

"My pleasure." Tech replied.

They reached the desert zone and Ace glanced down to look for Quantal. "Pay attention, team, look for a big, weird, glowing city."

Rev looked down and tried to search the city as Ace had commanded. "I don't see anything remotely similar to a city all I see is sand, sand and more sand maybe it's a myth and it actually doesn…" He left his phrase unfinished as his eyes widened by the walled, white structure he spotted, which was glowing blue thanks to its shared design. "Wow! That's…glowy!"

"We arrived, team." Ace said. "Engage." He began to fly down towards the outside of the enigmatic city followed by the others.

They landed in front of the big, metallic gate in front of them. Tech approached it, studying it with his gaze, then turned and looked at Ace. "So, shall I knock or…" He was interrupted by the sudden opening of the gates which did so inwards and left the entrance clear for them.

"That won't be necessary, Doc." Ace gestured with his head towards the entrance and they all entered the place and the gates closed afterwards.

Lexi was amazed at the place's harmonic aesthetic. "Wow, this is new." She glanced at the surface of the buildings, plain white with glowing, blue circles and other designs. "I can't believe he built all of this on his own."

"It seems that our friend is way more powerful than we thought." Tech added, also admiring the architectonic work. "Impressive."

Suddenly, they got surrounded by four guards, they wore black bodysuits with blue details and helmets of the same looks, revealing only their ears. "Identify yourselves." A guard said, he was a male leopard who pointed his weapon at them, which was a white, polygonal rifle with a strange blue sphere on the tip.

Ace raised his hands. "Take it easy, we are the Loonatics." He said. "We come in representation of the city of Acmetropolis."

"Like if you don't know us, punk." Duck argued, making the guard to snarl and aim his weapon at him.

Ace sighed and looked at Duck over his shoulder. "Duck, let me do the talking, okay?"

"Sure, be my guest." Duck replied carelessly.

Ace looked back at the guard, lowering his arms slowly. "Look, we must see the king immediately."

"Reason?" The guard kept aiming his weapon at him.

"Just a casual, diplomatic chat, not a big deal." Ace answered.

Tech stepped in as he was getting impatient. "Bridget Norris, she called us."

"Ms. Norris." The leopard seemed to know the woman. "Alright." He lowered his weapon. "But be warned, we'll keep an eye on you."

Duck chuckled. "Oh I'm so scar…" Lexi hit his side with her elbow, making him to gasp and stop talking.

Ace nodded at the guard. "Thanks, I promise we'll give you no trouble." He walked past the guard followed by the others.

Rev's comm began to beep so he activated it. "Hello?" A bright showed up on his eyes when hearing his girlfriend's voice. "Oh hi! Yes we are here the guards let us in they are kind of rude but who am I to judge I mean they're just doing their job…" He was interrupted by Ace.

"Rev, the location." Ace expressed.

"Oh sure." Rev told Ace then put the comm back in front of his beak. "Love, can you give us the address so we can help the woman you told Gillian about and get to the bottom of this?"

"Sure." Rebecca responded. "Axiom street number twenty two, it's right before the market, just walk straight, hon, I'll be waiting for you outside." She explained.

"Axi-what?" Duck inquired. "Even the streets here have weird names."

"That's a pretty common word, Duck." Tech argued. "I use it all the time."

"Well sorry if I didn't spend my childhood with my eyes sticked to books!" Duck responded.

"Stick to the mission, Duck." Ace said. "We gotta be careful here."

"Why? This place looks good, is cleaner than Acmetropolis so that's a point in favor." Lexi opined.

"Yeah but people don't disappear on Acmetropolis in fact Rebecca told me the least frequent cases she attends are the ones related to disappearances and things like that." Rev argued.

"You can't stop talking about her?" Duck inquired.

"No." Rev replied.

Duck lifted his shoulders. "Okay, I was just saying."

"Do you think those guards have something to do with these crimes?" Lexi asked Ace.

"I don't know, Lexi." Ace answered. "We are about to find that out." He said as they encountered with Rebecca who was waiting for them outside of Bridget's house as she had said.

"Love!" Rev exclaimed with joy and got in front of her after a rush. "I missed you so much like…" He kissed her quickly. "…literally!"

Rebecca let out a chuckle and blushed a little bit. "I missed you two, hon." She looked at the rest of the team. "Come in." She pointed at the open door with her hands. "She is eager to meet you."

"She must've heard about me." Duck said and walked past them to enter the house first.

Ace shook his head at Duck's common attitude. "Come on." He entered the house followed by the rest, Rebecca entered last.

Bridget stood up from the couch and approached them. "Oh I'm so glad you came all the way here, Loonatics."

"It's our pleasure, lady." Ace said with a smile. "Now, tell us, what can we do to help you?"

"Close the door, dear." Bridget told Rebecca, who nodded and closed it.

Ace looked at the door, confused, then looked back at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh." Bridget expressed. "I just don't feel safe thinking those guards could hear us."

"Tell us more about them." Ace asked. "You think they did this to your husband?"

Bridget sighed. "I'm not sure, they seemed good at first but then they began to be mean with everyone, I could swear I busted two of them beating someone but I was afraid to report them."

"Report them?" Ace inquired.

"The King Adam said that he wasn't going to tolerate any kind of abuse and told us to look for him if anything went wrong." Bridget explained.

"And you haven't told him about this matter?" Ace asked.

"I tried." Bridget lowered her head. "But the guards won't let me enter the castle."

"Fear no more, lady." Duck took a step at the front with a hand on his chest and a cocky expression. "I have the power to take you where the king." He winked. "Emphasis at power."

"Wow, you know that word?" Tech asked jokingly.

"Of course I know the word 'power'" Duck looked at him upset.

Tech rolled his eyes. "Say no more."

"Would you really do that for me?" Bridget said gratefully. "But, I don't think the king would be happy with us breaking in without permission."

Ace chuckled. "Don't worry, we are actually good friends with Adam."

"Could you take us to the castle? Ma'am?" Rebecca asked.

"Of course." Bridget answered.

Rebecca, Bridget and the Loonatics were approaching the castle which was a big, white structure similar to the others, only that this had a more particular design, it had two ornamental towers at its sides and it was five times bigger than the rest of the buildings in Quantal. They arrived at the castle's facade. "Alright." Duck thundered his fingers. "Someone take my hand."

"Wait, Duck." Ace said. "I'll try something first." He walked towards the two guards that were protecting the entrance, which was a tall, white door. "Good night, gentlemen." He approached them. "We were wondering if we could see the king, we come from Acmetropolis and is an urgent matter."

The guard at the left chuckled. "Not even the locals can see him now, how do you think we'll let you do so?" He wore the same attire as the other guards but had no helmet on and was holding a rifle, he was a tiger.

"Call the king, he'll let us in." Ace insisted.

The tiger shook his head. "No can do."

Ace sighed then pretended a face of deception. "Okay, we'll be back later." He went back with the team. "Duck, do your thing."

"Okay." Duck focused on the castle and they all put their hands on him, some on the head and some on his shoulders. "Ready?" He disappeared suddenly along with them.

The guard at the right, a male fox, gasped with fright and amusement at the event. "Where did they go?!" He glanced up and down repeatedly in search for them.

The lion growled and stepped strongly on the ground with fury. "That's why I hate those freaks of Acmetropolis!"

The team appeared on the throne room, the inside was just the same as the outside, white aesthetic with glowing blue decorations. "Adam?" Ace said, the size of the place generated an echo.

Adam was sitting on his throne next to his wife's who was accompanying him, she was a lean panda bear with long, black hair, who wore a gray bodysuit with blue details just as her husband and the rest of the people on Quantal. "Loonatics." Adam said while standing up along with his wife. "Don't get me wrong but who…" He was interrupted by the guards who entered violently.

"We tried to stop them but they didn't listen!" The lion exclaimed while pointing at them.

"We swear!" The fox added.

Adam raised an eyebrow at the scaredy tone of their voices. "It's fine, you can leave us." He said, making the guards to leave hesitantly and closing the door.

"Duck teleported us here, Adam." Ace explained.

"Someone has to teach some manners to those morons." Lexi added.

Adam took his wife's hand, helping her to walk down the small staircase that connected the thrones to the floor. "I apologize for their behavior." He said. "I've told them to be more placid many times." They approached them. "Lyla, they are the Loonatics, old friends of mine." He pointed at them with his hands.

Lyla smiled and made a greeting reverence. "It's a pleasure, Loonatics." She looked at them. "I'm Lyla, Queen of Quantal."

"The pleasure is ours." Ace said.

Adam looked at Rebecca. "And you? I d…" He was interrupted by Rev.

"She is Rebecca, and my girlfriend, by the way." Rev appeared in front of him ahead of a red blur. "And I'm her boyfriend."

Rebecca blushed and nodded at them. "What he said." She let out a brief chuckle.

"I see." Adam replied. "What brings you here? Loonatics?"

"Well, there's someone who wants to talk to you about that matter." Ace said, looking at Bridget who walked between them and got in front of Adam and Lyla.

"Ms. Norris." Adam said. "What can we do for you?"

"Uhm." Bridget was nervous. "My husband, Denton, he disappeared."

Adam scratched his chin. "Denton Norris." He knew he had heard of that name. "If I'm correct, I think he is serving a sentence on the dungeon right now."

"I went there, my king, but I'm afraid he isn't there." Bridget said.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Have you contacted the guards? Maybe they could help you investigate."

Bridget shook her head. "I told them but they won't listen to me."

"That's unacceptable, they live to serve the citizens of Quantal." Adam looked at Lyla. "Could you talk to them, Sweet?" He asked. "I've noticed they trust you much more than me."

"Sure." Lyla replied. "Excuse me." She told them then began to walk away and exited the castle.

Adam looked back at Bridget. "Worry no more, Ms. Norris, we'll find your husband soon, it's a promise."

"Oh, thank you so much." Bridget said with a grateful look.

Adam nodded at her then glared at the Loonatics. "I'm guessing you are not leaving anytime soon."

"Thanks for the warm welcome." Duck commented sarcastically.

Adam chuckled. "Please, don't get me wrong." He extended his hand towards the hallway at his left. "You may stay in the guest rooms, we have plenty." He pointed with his hand.

"Thank you, Adam." Ace said then looked at his team and Rebecca. "Come on."

"Thank you, Loonatics." Bridget said before they could leave.

Ace turned. "Is nothing, ma'am."

While walking on the hallway, looking for the rooms Adam had offered them, Tech approached Ace to speak to him. "Boss, we should call them now."

"I will contact Matt tomorrow." Ace looked at Tech. "I don't want Adam or the queen to know they're here."

Tech raised an eyebrow. "But why?"

Ace shook his head slightly. "There's something here that doesn't fit, Doc. I need them to be incognito, just in case."

Tech nodded and looked back to the front. "As you say, then."

Lexi approached the door of a room and opened it, she gasped by the beauty of it, tones of gray and blue decorated it and several pieces of art like abstract statues and paintings gave it life, there was a big bed at the bottom between two desks, the blue light was an odd but fitting matter. Before she could step in Duck teleported to the inside and appeared jumping over the bed. "Too slow, Lexi!"

Lexi frowned. "Duck! I saw it first!"

"But I got in first!" Duck argued while dropping himself over the bed, laying there while ignoring her.

"Duck! Get out of my room!" Lexi exclaimed upset.

"You mean my room, darling." Duck replied.

Lexi grunted. "You are so fastidious!" She slammed the door with fury.

"That's my middle name." Duck said, speaking to no one. "Don't waste it."

Slam entered a room, revealing they were all the same, he snarled and did a tornado all over the place, leaving the room messy and untidy, just as he liked. The rest of them went into different rooms after that.

Later on, Adam was walking inside his room, glancing at the floor, thinking about what was going on, he thought his city would be absent of trouble but found out he was wrong. His ear twitched by hearing the automatic door opening and then closing, he turned afterwards. "Lyla." He said and walked towards his wife who had entered the room. "Do you think I did well?" He approached her and caressed her cheek. "By making this city?"

Lyla smiled and placed her hand over his. "You saved them, my love." She said. "From poverty, from suffering."

Adam shook his head. "But now they're disappearing." He glanced at her eyes with guilt. "I made a promise, Lyla, I promised them to keep them safe." He sighed. "And I failed them."

Lyla moved forward and kissed him. "You've failed no one." She hugged him. "This world is complicated, Adam, people are unpredictable."

"Why?" Adam said. "Why are they so savage? Don't they know they are all brothers?"

Lyla broke the hug. "We'll find the responsible for this." She put a hand on his shoulder. "But now, you rest, you look tired."

Adam nodded. "Yes, some sleep might help me figure this out."

Lyla smirked. "You see?" She walked away from him, heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Adam inquired.

Lyla looked at him over her shoulder. "To the warehouse, those inventories won't get done on their own."

"Right." Adam replied. "Just take care, would you?"

Lyla smiled and gave him a nod. "See you later." Lyla exited the room by the automatic door. The door closed then Adam sat down on the edge of the bed, putting his hands over his face and sighing with frustration.

It was a beautiful morning on Quantal, the sun hit directly on the city's market, where the Loonatics were walking. "I have to admit it, Adam did a good job with this place." Tech said.

"It's a matter of time before it gets polluted like Acmetropolis." Ace opined. "I wonder when will these guys arrive."

"Give them time, Ace, they should find a way to get in, it was your idea to keep their presence a secret after all." Lexi told Ace.

"That's true, but…" Ace's comm started to receive a transmission.

"Ace, it's Matt, we are here." Matt's voice sounded from the comm's speakers.

"Great, just head to the market, is nearby the castle." Ace responded.

"Castle? Wha… Oh, I see it, Ace." Matt said. "Okay don't move, we are on our way." He cut the communication.

Ace nodded and lowered his arm. "They're here." He told Tech, but he didn't reply. "Doc."

Tech looked at him abruptly. "Sorry, I was just thinking about this case."

"And?" Ace asked. "What have you got?"

Tech scratched his chin. "Maybe this is simpler than we thought, Denton could have enemies, judging by his criminal behavior."

"I doubt so." Rebecca said. "I asked Bridget about that, she said he got along with everyone, here and back on the marginated zone."

"That and the fact that there are more reports apart from this one." Rev argued.

"One step at a time, then." Ace said, then received a transmission on his comm.

"Ace, we found a suspect, a male kangaroo, he is heading to your location." Matt's voice sounded agitated. "We are chasing him, he was threatening a civilian."

"Good job, Matt, we'll wait for him here." Ace replied then turned on his jetpack and flew upwards to get an aerial view of the market. He studied every corner of the place from his spot, finding four points from where the suspect could arrive. He glanced down to give his team instructions. "Lexi, Tech, cover the entrance at the north, Slam east, Rebecca and Rev, west entrance, Duck, you take care of the south's, I will be surveilling from here!" He instructed while pointing to the places he was referencing.

"Understood!" Tech said and hurried towards the elliptical shaped entrance Ace had told them to cover, followed by Lexi."

Slam went to the east entrance with the help of his tornado which helped him to get there faster, Duck teleported to the entrance he had to cover and Rev ran towards the one on the west side, taking his girlfriend with him by carrying her.

The areas were covered, Ace was attentive at every movement he could notice, he heard a group of people screaming on a street behind the market so he flew towards the area and saw Matt, Anne and Peyton chasing the suspect, who was indeed a kangaroo, he wore a brown robe over his black bodysuit and held a rifle like the ones from the other guards, he was heading to the north entrance."

"Lexi, Tech!" Ace exclaimed. "Ready!"

Tech and Lexi adopted a defense position, each one of them covering the sides of the entrance, the kangaroo entered the market running but Lexi put her foot on his way and made him to fall onto the sandy ground.

Matt and the others arrived. "We could've done that." He told Lexi.

Lexi chuckled cockily. "But you didn't."

The kangaroo grunted and got into his feet rapidly and pointed his rifle at them, he shot at them but they reacted soon enough to evade the attack by dropping themselves to the ground, the munition was a big, blue cube that collided with the wall which turned into hundreds of much smaller, blue cubes that bounced slightly over the ground.

Tech got into his feet then helped Lexi to stand up. He glanced at the surreal cubes that the wall had turned into. "What are those? I should take some…"

"This is no time for experiments, Doc." Lexi argued.

"I was just saying." Tech responded.

Before the suspect could escape, Ace landed in front of him with his jetpack and punched him on the face, the man groaned and aimed his weapon at him but a red blur appeared between them and the kangaroo was suddenly disarmed. "What in the…" He got kicked by Slam from a side and flew towards a fruit stand several meters away from them which got destroyed when he landed right over it.

Duck appeared in front of him by teleporting, holding two orbs menacingly. "Stay down if you know what's good for you."

The kangaroo gasped and backed away from him, the team rapidly gathered behind Duck, Ace took a step at the front and approached the suspect. "You got nowhere to go." He grasped the cloth of his suit and lifted him. "Denton Norris, you know him?"

The kangaroo tussled uselessly. "You can't make me talk." He chuckled with mockery. "You are too righteous to do anything, that's why you'll never save them."

Rebecca walked towards him and grasped his neck. "Maybe I can." She looked at him with a straight face. "Have you ever heard of the Acmetropolis Honorific Police? I know many methods to make you give us what we want."

"Do you think I'm scared of you?" The kangaroo bit his own teeth.

"No." Rebecca tried to open his mouth then looked at Tech. "Tech, he…"

Foam started to come out from the kangaroo's mouth. "Long live…the queen." He died immediately afterwards.

"What happened to him?" Ace asked.

Tech approached them and looked at the dead kangaroo. "Cyanide."

Ace sighed. "Perfect." He put a hand on his face.

"He gave us a lead, actually." Anne joined the discussion.

"Long live the queen." Lexi cited. "Does that mean…"

"We must tell him." Ace looked at them after leaving the body on the ground. "To the castle." He glanced at Anne, Peyton and Matt. "You three, I need you to remain hidden, you are our only backup team here."

The Loonatics and Rebecca had met with Adam on the throne room. "I need to understand." Adam said, he was sitting on his throne. "Are you sure he said that?"

"Very sure." Tech said.

Adam scratched his chin, thoughtful with his gaze lowered. "My Lyla." He sighed and shook his head. "How could she?"

Rev noticed Adam's anguish, he walked forward to try to reassure him. "Maybe he was just trying to confuse us or the word queen could even be a code name, an alias or something."

Adam stood thoughtful then nodded and looked at Rev. "That could be true."

"Adam." Tech said. "Even if Rev could be right, I advice you not to discard the possibility that your wife could be behind this." He explained. "With all due respect."

"And I'll take that advice, be sure about that." Adam responded. "I'll talk to her later."

"Thanks." Ace said. "Tell us how did it go." He and the team walked away from him then exited the castle.

Adam's sight was locked on the closing doors, he was refusing to believe that his beloved would be behind the crimes, but he knew he had the responsibility to resolve the matter, even if it meant sending his own wife to the dungeon.

Author's note: What's up? Thank you very much for reading, you are the reason why I keep making new stories for these awesome characters, and this is only the beginning as the first macro-event of the saga is about to come soon so stay tuned for the next episodes! Cataclysm is imminent. Please have a wonderful day and be happy, grateful and don't forget you are not alone. God bless you.


	35. Episode 35: Brutal

Loonatics: United

Episode 35: Brutal

Adam was on his room, glancing at the still powerful sun through the wide window, trying to reassure himself with its light, hoping his suspicions to be wrong, he could only think about his wife, but not as he had always known her, a new concept of his beloved came to move the previous one away, he wished so hard it wasn't true. The automatic door opened and Lyla entered the room, the door closed afterwards. "You look troubled, my dear." Lyla said then began to walk towards him.

"I am, indeed." Adam replied coldly, with his gaze locked at the landscape.

Lyla approached him and put a hand over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Adam was clenching his fists with strength, he overcame the lump in his throat before speaking. "The investigation is doing well, Lyla." He said.

Lyla moved her hand away from him. "Oh." She backed away from her husband then sat down on the edge of the bed. "That's good." She lowered her head.

Adam took a deep breath then exhaled, calming himself down a little bit. "They caught a suspect, but he killed himself with cyanide."

"That's a shame." Lyla responded.

"Yes." Adam said. "But he actually had something last to say." He looked at her. "Long live the Queen." Lyla stood silent and Adam began to walk towards her. "I guessed the man was delirious." He sat down next to her. "I hope he was." The uncommon silence of Lyla started to get him impatient but fearful at the same time. "Lyla." He put a hand on her cheek. "Look at me." His wife ignored the request. "Please, look at me, look at my eyes, my love." She hesitated but finally glared at him as he had told her to do. Adam locked his gaze on hers, studying the looks of her eyes, he got his hand off her face and shook his head while still looking at her. "Why?" Adam asked with a broken voice.

Lyla closed her eyes and lowered her head. "It had to be done."

"H…" Adam stood up abruptly. "How could you?!"

Lyla got into her feet. "There was no other choice, Adam! They were not paying for their crimes!"

Adam grunted. "They were! At the dungeon!"

Lyla took a step forward. "That's not enough! Criminals don't deserve to live! They must die! Slowly and painfully, they deserve it!"

Adam walked towards an abstract statue that was next to the window and hit it with rage, making it to fall and shatter into pieces, he let out a scream of fury and approached her again. "Why you?! That's not how I…"

"How you made me?!" Lyla exclaimed. "I changed, Adam, now I'm free from your lectures, from your weak programming."

Adam covered his face with both hands. "You…you killed them."

Lyla turned to stop looking at him. "And I don't regret it, I'm keeping my city safe."

Adam lifted his head and got closer to her. "Your city?! It is our city! It was our dream, don't you remember that?!"

"Dreams die, Adam." Lyla turned to face him. "Just like everything."

Adam snarled with disbelief and desperation. "I'm done with this." He closed his eyes and communicated with the guards at the castle's door with his powers.

"Adam." Lyla tried to caress his face but he backed away to prevent her from doing so, she grunted and looked at him with a straight face. "I'm doing the right thing! You keep protecting those monsters while I do what's better and much more efficient! Terminate them, end of story!"

"That's not how the world works! Lyla!" Adam responded. "It works with mercy, not with death, not with cold blooded killers like you!"

Lyla slapped him. "You are weak! Adam! I'm the one who is getting things done here! I'll bring peace to this city!"

Adam rubbed his cheek after that then looked at her enraged, the room's door opened and let the two guards, the fox and the tiger, enter. He looked at them then at his wife. "Try to do that on the dungeon."

"Any problem, your highness?" The tiger said.

"Take him to the dungeon." Lyla commanded, the guards approached Adam and grabbed his arms.

"What are you doing?! I called you, is her!" Adam struggled then looked at Lyla.

"We don't take orders from you anymore." The fox said, tightening his grasp to prevent Adam to escape.

"Your weak sentences are now abolished, my dear." Lyla said. "No more defense to thieves and killers."

Adam gasped while trying to get off the guards' grip, he made a pixelated, black cube to form on his foot and hit the shins of both guards, they groaned and backed away, letting him go. "You forgot one thing, I built this place, I created this society on my own!" Adam walked towards her.

"You are right." Lyla raised her hands and made a black cell to appear around Adam, caging him. "But I have your powers too."

"That won't make any difference." Adam moved his hands towards the bars of the cell and tried to manipulate them, then gasped at discovering he couldn't cause any effect on them. "What?" He said, frightened and confused.

Lyla chuckled and walked towards the cell to look at him more closely. "I've made up some tricks of my own, and as long as I breathe, you will never get out of this cell." She poked a bar of the constructed prison and looked at him mockingly, then she turned to give her guards new instructions. "As I said, take him, now."

"As you wish, my queen." The tiger said then he and the fox walked towards the cell, they took it from below and lifted it with effort, then started to take Adam out of the room.

"You will regret this! Lyla! You have a conscience!" Adam was kneeling down with his hands grasping the bars, looking at her. "I gave you a conscience!" Lyla just waved her hand at him from where she was standing, then the doors of the room closed.

Meanwhile, the Loonatics and A.R.M. were doing routine surveillance, they were moving between the crowd through the unending streets. "Everything here just looks the same, how boring." Duck complained.

"We are not on a holiday, Duck." Ace replied.

"I know but we've been looking for hours and I mean, everyone just dresses the same and their houses look the same, is creepy." Duck responded.

"I actually concur with Duck in this one." Lexi opined. "I wouldn't stand anyone who dresses exactly like me, is just not right."

"Focus, guys." Matt said. "Keep looking instead of arguing about clothes."

"Wow." Tech expressed. "It seems that the agent life has certainly made you a leader."

"Bossy, that's the word." Peyton joked and made Anne to chuckle.

"I'm not bossy, I just want to focus on the mission." Matt argued.

Anne smirked and put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, hon, we are just messing with you."

"Just don't mess with Slam he tends to punch everything that remotely annoys him isn't it Slam?" Rev looked at his comrade.

Slam growled affirmatively and gave all of them looks of warning.

Lyla spotted them from the roof of the castle, she then closed her eyes and lifted her head a little bit to communicate with the guards. "My servants, go to the east, you shall find the Loonatics and their friends there, kill them all and leave no trace of them."

"We shall separate." Rebecca proposed. "That way we'll cover more ground."

"Good idea." Ace said. "Matt, Anne and Peyton, you and Rebecca are forming a group, the rest of us will take care of this area." He looked at Rev as he had raised his hand. "Yes?"

"I should go with them." Rev said.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Uhm…" Rev scratched his nape. "Because, they will need someone with, you know, powers."

"Matt has super strength, Rev." Ace argued.

"Yeah but is not like that good of a power you know." Rev looked at Matt. "No offense."

Matt crossed his arms. "Not taken, I guess." He had a straight face.

"You stay with us, Rev, they'll manage." Ace said.

"This isn't just because you want to be with your girl, is it, Rev?" Lexi asked jokingly.

"Oh come on, like…" Rev got next to Rebecca in a split of second and hugged her. "But of course."

Ace grunted. "I said no, Rev, as Matt said, we must focus."

Rev sighed and lowered his head. "Okay." He walked away from his girlfriend.

"Alright, we'll meet up right here, okay?" Ace commanded.

"Understood." Matt said then he and his team walked away from them.

"Keep looking." Ace said and continued to walk followed by the rest of the team.

Lexi approached her boyfriend. "Ace, are you sure splitting up is a good idea?"

Ace nodded. "If anything goes wrong, it's more possible the other group will be available to help the other." He looked at her. "Just a simple strategy."

"Yeah, but things have been quite calm for a while, mayb…" Lexi's ear twitched. "Oh oh."

"What is it?" Ace inquired.

Lexi turned. "I hear movement, from both sides."

Ace sighed. "Great." He glanced at his team. "Get in position, we are being intercepted!"

Ace, Tech and Lexi faced one side and Rev, Duck and Slam turned to the opposite way, all of them adopting combat positions, people started to scream and move to the sides to let the guards pass through, a group of six guards for each side of the street the team was covering.

"These guys again?!" Duck complained, the guards were wearing helmets as the ones who had received them when they just entered the city.

The guards approached them and began to load their weapons. "Evade! Now!" Ace commanded and activated his jetpack, same as the others, he flew upwards then landed on the small plaza at the other side, the other five did so too.

"These morons want to kill us!" Lexi exclaimed.

"You don't say?" Duck mocked.

Lexi looked at him angry. "Duck!" She said with an upset tone.

"It's fire against fire, then!" Ace stated then the twelve guards entered the plaza, they didn't hesitate to aim their weapons at them and shoot.

"Wait!" Duck teleported to a place safe from the upcoming charges. "I wasn't ready!"

Ace had jumped along with Lexi to evade the shots, he was laying on the ground next to her, he took her hand and helped her to stand up while Rev had dodged the charges easily with his super speed, Tech was hovering with his jetpack over the ground turned into blue, moving cubes, Slam had managed to avoid the attacks with his tornado which he just stopped using. "Come on, we must destroy their weapons then we fight!" Ace commanded.

"Right away." Rev ran rapidly towards a pair of guards and took their weapons, he ended on the other side of the plaza. "Hey, look what I do to your toys I know these ain't toys but you get the idea!" Rev threw the rifles upwards and jumped then rushed in the air towards both weapons and destroyed them, making them to turn into falling, white dust with a cloud of blue colored smoke.

"You disgraceful bird! I'll kill you with my o…" A guard said but was interrupted by Rev who rushed towards him and punched him and the other disarmed guard in the face, they impacted on a nearby wall and fell to the ground unconscious.

Rev just stood in front of them while dusting his hands off. "You were saying?"

"Lexi, the double attack!" Ace told her and ran towards the center of the place to face the guards more closely.

Lexi followed him there. "Oh you mean the couple blast?"

Ace sighed and blushed. "Yes, Lexi." He fired his laser vision at a guard's weapon then Lexi did the same with her brain blast only that she aimed at one spot of Ace's laser which created a sphere shaped charge that they both aimed at the rifle and made it to hit the weapon strongly, it got destroyed with a colorful explosion.

Slam headed to the conflict using his tornado and made five guards to enter it and started to hit them while on the inside of the phenomenon, he then threw one by one upwards, making them to fall to the ground unconscious, still holding their weapons.

One of the guards shot at Duck but he reacted fast enough to throw an orb at the projectile, both collided and a blue explosion was generated with broken, randomly shaped cubes that just vanished in the air. "You will need more than that to be…" A guard punched his beak, Duck groaned and teleported behind the guard then threw an orb at him, making the guard to gasp and fall down. "As I said, you will need more than that to beat me!" He rubbed his beak. "But maybe is just enough to hurt me."

"My turn!" Tech headed at the four remaining guards with his jetpack, they began to shoot at him but he dodged the attacks with evasive maneuvers, he controlled the metal of their weapons and made them to float away from them, he then hit the four guards with their own weapons on the head, leaving them unconscious. He turned and landed next to Ace. "They were the last of them, boss."

"Good work, Doc." Ace looked at his other teammates. "You did well, Loonatics."

"We should inform Adam." Lexi proposed.

The night had come, the Loonatics entered the castle, Lyla was sitting on her throne. "Your highness, we must speak with the king immediately." Ace said.

"Is there any problem?" Lyla asked.

"We were attacked by your guards." Tech responded.

"Oh." Lyla stood up, pretending an expression of concern. "What could have possibly made them to do such barbarity?"

"They must be involved with the disappearances." Lexi responded. "You must stop them."

"I would be glad to help but that kind of decisions are to be made by me and my husband together." Lyla said. "Bureaucracy, you know."

"It's urgent, I'm sure you can at leas…" Ace got interrupted.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do now." Lyla insisted.

Ace sighed. "Don't worry, we understand."

"I don't!" Duck took a step forward to face Lyla. "You are responsible for this! Don't play the innocent, you don't fool anyone!"

Lyla frowned subtly. "Be careful with that insolent mouth of y…"

"Is fine, your highness." Ace rapidly took Duck with them. "We'll continue the investigation." He began to walk away from her along with the others then they exited the castle.

When they got far enough from the castle's entrance, Ace bumped Duck's head. "What the heck was that? You've risked the entire mission!" He scolded.

"Ouch!" Duck rubbed the back of his head. "She is clearly behind this, and you know it!"

"Yes but we must be cautious! We don't know what she is capable of!" Ace stated.

Meanwhile, Lyla was kneeling down while facing her throne, she placed both hands on the floor and began to move them to the sides slowly. "My reign begins, now." She whispered and raised her hands.

The city started to tremble and the citizens began to run scared and confused. "What now?!" Ace inquired and gasped at seeing the castle getting elevated by a white emerging mountain below it, getting unreachable.

"Now we are sure!" Tech looked at Ace. "She is behind the crimes! She must've done something to Adam!"

"See?!" Duck said.

Ace ignored him and tried to activate his comm. "What?" He hit it to see if that could make it work but nothing happened. "Tech, can you contact Matt?"

Tech tried to turn on his comm but nothing happened. "I can't!"

"Neither do I!" Lexi informed.

Ace snarled and jumped, with the intention to fly with his jetpack, but nothing happened. He looked at Tech with worry. "My jetpack doesn't work, Doc."

"She must've done something to our technology." Tech said.

"Stand back." Duck took a few steps forward, facing the mountain below the castle, with the intention to make an entrance. "I'll take care of this." He moved both hands to the front, his orbs didn't appear. "What in the…" He tried again but nothing happened.

"We are waiting." Lexi crossed her arms.

"I…I think I lost my powers." Duck said.

Ace gasped and looked at the ground, focusing on it, he tried to shoot his laser vision but it seemed to be gone. "We are two, then."

Slam punched the ground heavily, he groaned by the ache he felt by the hit, his super strength was gone.

Rev tried to run fast but all he got was a normal speed run. "We've all been affected!" His voice sounded normal.

Tech complained at the frustration of not being able to activate his magnetic powers. "Lexi, how are yours?"

"I can only hear you." Lexi responded, then she tried to fire her brain blast, without results. "Yeah, that's gone too."

Ace put both hands over his head, trying to think about a plan, there was only one thing to do at the moment. "We are on disadvantage here." He looked at his team.

"What will we do, boss?" Tech asked.

Ace shook his head. "For now, we escape, before t…" The four guards that surrounded them interrupted his words.

"You ain't going anywhere…Loonatics." A guard said, he pressed a hidden button on his rifle and a blade came out from a slot, the other three did the same. He approached Ace and threw an attack with his blade, right towards his face, but Ace crouched and dodged it, he then kicked the guard's side, who gasped and backed away a little bit, Slam was applying wrestling techniques with a guard, managing to deal with him.

A guard had cuffed Tech's arms with his own. "Get off me you…" The remaining guard punctured him with his blade right on his side, Tech screamed by the terrible pain he was feeling, the guard took the blade out of him, his side was bleeding, his regeneration powers were inactive, he gasped and fell to his knees, covering the wound with his hand.

"Tech!" Lexi yelled with extreme worry, she approached the two guards, they both tried to attack her with their blades, but she ducked and the blades clashed right above her head, she jumped and held from the clashed blades and brought herself to the ground, making the guards to fall and hit their heads with the other's, ending instantly unconscious. Duck and Rev were helping Ace with the guard hesitant to be out of the game, he was far more skilled than the others, Rev kicked his shin and the guard barely reacted, Duck climbed on his back and started to punch his face, an alternative attack to the one he tended to do with his burning orbs, the guard threw flawed punches, Ace hit his stomach with his knee, and the guard fell down.

"That's one for Duck." Duck claimed.

Ace growled then turned and saw Lexi helping Tech to stand up. "Guys! We gotta go now!"

"Then help us here!" Lexi replied, making Ace to approach them and help Tech to stand on his feet.

Tech groaned with authentic suffering. "He is…" He complained by the pain. "Right, more guards will come."

"Loonatics, to the gate!" Ace ordered. The team ran reasonably fast to avoid Tech from getting more hurt and losing more blood. After a couple of minutes of fearful running, they reached the gates and Slam got closer to them, he started to push the doors with all the strength he had, he growled by the enormous effort he was making, the doors opened slowly, he was getting very tired.

Ace saw the small but sufficient space Slam had revealed between the doors. "That's enough, Slam, well done." Ace praised. "Now let's get out of here!" He ran towards the gap followed by the others and they all exited the city, Slam was already outside.

With occasional, paranoiac turns by the fear of being followed, the Loonatics walked through the dense dessert. A couple of minutes later, Tech started to feel his pain fading away, he uncovered his wound, only to find out it was gone. "Boss." Tech said. "My powers…they're back."

Ace hesitated but decided to stop helping him walk along with Lexi as he really seemed to be much better. "Could that mean…?" He fired his laser vision to the sand, turning that area into clear glass. "They are back, guys!"

"That means she only holds power on her territory." Tech said.

"Can you make up something with that?" Ace asked.

"I'll need my lab for that." Tech responded.

Ace smirked with confidence. "And I'm glad you've said that." He activated his jetpack, the others did the same after seeing their technology was working again. They started to leave the desert behind, en route to the headquarters.


	36. Episode 36: Life

Loonatics: United

Episode 36: Life

The Loonatics were reunited in the HQ's lab, they were sitting at the great desk on the center, where the discussion about a plan was taking place.

"I say it's done." Duck opined. "Face it, guys, we can't win this, not without our powers and Tech's toys."

"By toys I hope you mean advanced, unprecedented technology." Tech said rather upset, then he sighed and scratched his head. "But I'm afraid you may be right."

Ace raised an eyebrow and looked at Tech with confusion. "Come on, Doc." He looked at the rest briefly. "Everybody, listen, we are on disadvantage, clearly, a grand disadvantage, but when has that stopped us?" He hoped his words to generate some hope, but the team barely listened as the sense of defeat was already a common feeling among them.

"My girl…" Rev shook his head. "You should've let me go with her."

Ace sighed. "She is fine, Rev, just…"

"No!" Rev stood up rapidly from his seat. "She must be dead now!"

"Rev, you don't know that." Lexi argued.

Rev grunted. "I could tell you exactly the same thing, this is useless." He vanished after a brief red blur.

Ace sighed again and tried to stand up to go and talk with him but Lexi prevented him from doing so. "I'll go, Ace." Lexi walked away from them in order to speak with Rev about the matter.

"Okay." Ace looked at Tech after the abrupt friction. "I'm listening, Doc."

Tech shook his head and let out a little growl of desperation. "No circuits, no dongles, no screens, no nothing." Tech covered his face with both hands. "This is too much for me."

Slam growled, questioning him about that uncommon type of frustration he was having.

"Slam, how can I be calm when the only thing I know to do is futile?" Tech glared at him. "I mean, what do you want me to do?" He looked at his boss. "Some kind of old schooled vehicle? With fire and…" He gasped with astonishment. "And, gunpowder?" Tech scratched his chin. "It doesn't sound that bad, yes." His eyes were lost on the desk's edge while he was picturing some designs in his mind.

Ace chuckled hopefully and grinned the same way. "That's old Tech, guys." Ace crossed his arms, his optimism was elevated.

Duck sighed with skepticism and stood up from his seat. "Yeah, good luck with that, uhm, whatever." He started to walk away from them. "If anyone needs me, I'll be at the lounge." Duck turned briefly and gave them a look of warning. "And please, don't need me." He finally exited the lab.

Rev was standing on the terrace next to the lounge, looking at the dark horizon, not feeling the cold of outside's air as his fear was greater than that. Lexi approached him and he frowned subtly as he didn't want to talk about anything at the moment.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Lexi inquired, getting Rev's attention, but his gaze was still looking at the front. "The doubts and the fear."

Rev kept his face straight. "What do you mean?"

"One of the things I'm good at, is at hiding my feelings." Lexi responded. "I play it cool when danger is near him."

Rev tilted his head a bit towards her, with his eyebrow raised. "Ace?"

Lexi nodded, lowering her head. "It's something we cannot simply ignore." She sighed. "I often imagine my life without him, it is, like an exercise."

"Sorry, but, I really don't get you." Rev replied.

"Neither do I, Rev." Lexi chuckled subtly. "Maybe I want to be prepared, for that day." She looked at him. "I'm afraid, Rev, every second, every day, for him not to return or breathe again."

Rev stood silent for a moment, then he glanced at her eyes too. "Why does this happen? Isn't love supposed to be all smiles and happiness?"

"It is that way, precisely." Lexi responded, glancing down again, at the far street below them, resting her crossed arms on the edge of the balustrade. "But, when it becomes, inevitably, a crucial part of your life, the mere thought of losing it turns into a nightmare."

Rev also glared at the city's lowest part, the ever glowing lampposts accompanied his thinking. "Does that mean, that I'm not ready?" He sighed silently. "I think she is the one."

Lexi chuckled reassuringly. "Quite the contrary, Rev." She put a hand on his shoulder. "It means she is indeed the girl for you."

Rev nodded. "That makes sense." He looked at her with a grateful smirk. "Thank you, Lexi." He looked at the side and scratched his nape. "I guess I should apologize to Ace."

"Don't worry." Lexi said. "If there's someone in this world who understands what you feel, it is him."

"Levers, I need levers!" Tech said while designing the vehicles on the lab's main computer, standing before the large keyboard, he was writing some specs and drawing vectors with the rolling pad while Ace, Duck and Slam were in the lab's warehouse at the other side of the room gathering what Tech was telling them.

The warehouse was a room annex to the lab, with its own automatic doors, which were open, of course. "You know, Doc, you could use some organizing tips from Lexi!" Ace lowered a box from a shelf at the top of one of the many racks that were full of random stuff.

Duck sniffed heavily, dropping the small plastic box he had been carrying, making the things that were on its inside to get all over the floor, rolling and falling. "Yeah, and maybe clean a little, too." He rubbed his nostrils over his beak, then he sniffed again.

Tech glanced back thanks to the messy noise, looking at Duck warningly. "If anything, even a single capacitor gets damaged by your incompetence, you'll pay for it! Duck!"

"Yeah, like if I knew what a capa-cetir, whatever, is." Duck was picking up the box's content and putting it back to its former place.

While looking on a metallic locker that was on a corner, Slam found a gray colored lever, but he wasn't sure if that was it so he walked to let Tech see him from the lab and growled to get his attention, asking if the thing he was holding was what Tech asked them to find.

Tech turned again, with his hands still over the keyboard. "Yes, Slam, but I'll need more!"

Slam grunted rather upset and dropped the lever carelessly on the floor then he walked back to the locker.

"Ace! Do you copy?!" Matt sighed worriedly and hit his wrist communicator at a wall to see if that could activate it. "Ace!" He waited hopeful for an answer but it never came. He lowered his arm and shook his head, resting over the wall of one of the nearby buildings at the meeting point they had previously established with the Loonatics.

"Maybe is the battery." Peyton said innocently.

"These things last, Peyton." Anne explained. "Something else must be going on."

"They must've obtained intel, then." Rebecca intuited.

Matt nodded and approached them three. "But we all agreed to meet here." He crossed his arms and got thoughtful. "We should go to the castle and tell the king about the matter."

After a brief but hurried walk, they approached the mountain that laid under the castle, their faces showed amusement, concern and confusion.

"Uhm…" Peyton tilted her head towards Anne to comment something. "Was this here before?" Anne just shook her head.

"This is very wrong." Matt turned and looked at his teammates. "We are not safe out here, w…"

"Oh, you are correct in that one." A guard said, who had intercepted them accompanied by four more, he was a cougar.

Peyton backed away instinctively. "Matt…" She said, appealing to her boss' super strength.

"Where are they?" Matt asked, frowning and adopting a combat position.

"The freaks?" The cougar laughed. "They are dead, my friend." His comment made Peyton to gasp and cover her muzzle, Rebecca kept a straight face but on the inside, she felt deeply concerned about her boyfriend.

Matt growled. "You are lying!" He threw a punch at the guard's face and while managing to give a strong hit, it was certainly one of average strength, and he noticed that.

"Your powers…they are gone." Anne said, still about to join the brawl that was starting.

Matt was thoughtful, he knew there was only one reasonable choice at the situation. "Run." He said softly but loud enough for Anne, Rebecca and Peyton to hear it.

The cougar laughed with unsubtle mockery. "And you call yourselv…" He got punched severely by Matt, who began to run away from the battle, following his three comrades, the shots of the guards' weapons turned spots of sand into blue cubes behind them, but they didn't look back, they all knew there was no chance, a cop and three modestly armed agents against trained soldiers with fantastical weapons.

Despite the growing exhaustion, the three agents and the cop kept running, turning on random intersections and passing through new alleyways, they weren't going to stop until they knew the guards had totally lost them, Peyton was the one who slowed down her steps sooner, she didn't have the same condition as the other three, after an unmeasurable effort she couldn't take it anymore and dropped herself to the ground, breathing in and out more than ever before, Matt and Anne stopped running a pair of meters ahead, they both rested their backs on opposite buildings and lowered themselves down to sit over the sand, looking up and gasping continuously.

"Sorry." Peyton coughed, with her hands and her knees over the sandy ground, blueish by the darkness of the night.

Matt closed his eyes of tiredness. "Is okay, Peyton." He said. "I think we've lost them."

Rebecca had just stopped running and started to retrieve some air. "That queen must be behind this."

Anne shook her head while recovering. "What was her name?" She leaned her head against the wall. "Lara?"

"Lyla." Rebecca corrected.

"You really think she is our target?" Matt inquired.

Peyton sighed with a tone of obviousness. "You still doubt about it?" She sat down with her legs crossed and her gaze lost on the sand. "I thought we had that clear since the fight with that kangaroo."

"I had my doubts, yeah, but now it seems that's just the case." Matt opined and glanced at a narrow alleyway next to the building in front of him, were Anne was resting. He pointed at it, as he thought it was a good place to spend the night and hide. "We are exposed here, what about that spot?"

Anne glared at her side. "Seems fine to me."

Peyton sighed and placed both hands on her face. "I just want some decent sleep right now."

"Same as I, Peyton." Matt began to stand up. "Tomorrow, we'll make up a plan and rescue our friends."

"If there are still friends to rescue." Anne said somberly and hopelessly.

Meanwhile, at the Loonatics HQ's lab, Tech was showing his comrades the inventive vehicles he had come up with, on the big monitor over the keyboard of the main computer, Ace and the rest were just standing behind him ready to contemplate the newly designed vehicles, while Tech was pressing several keys on the keyboard. "Lady and gentlemen." Tech pressed the spacebar and the monitor displayed 3D models of six vehicles, triggering surprise on the team, along with intrigued faces. "Behold, the X-Piders!" He raised and pointed his hands towards the display. "Fully analogical, no chips, no wires, no circuits, pure old engineering."

"A little, aggressive." Duck said, noticing the rusty look of the arachnid shaped vehicles, the industrial yet futuristic aesthetic of the X-Piders was their greatest point in favor. Duck crossed his arms and chuckled with confidence. "I like them."

Tech grinned at his comment. "Thanks, Duck." He pressed the enter key, then the models' animations began to play, starting with a zoom in at Ace's X-Pider. "I did my best to emulate our powers with these beauties." The animation showed the X-Pider throwing fire through a set of small tubes that were located at the top of the vehicle.

Ace nodded with a smirk of interest. "Nice, Doc."

"Now, with Lexi's." Tech just waited for the next animation to show up, zooming in again at the model at the side of the previous one. The vehicle had two metallic spheres, also at the top, which began to shoot powerful rays as lightning. "This was a tough one, certainly, but with the adequate minerals, which I have, the generated static will be enough to replicate your brain blast, Lexi." He looked at her. "What do you think?"

Lexi studied it while covering her chin. "Not bad, Tech." She replied. "Let me give it some paint, and I'm in."

"Sure." Tech responded, then looked back at the screen. The next vehicle started to play. "Duck, yours was not so hard to conceive, it basically, does this." He pointed at the vehicle that was shooting rocks with a cannon at the side. "That's the advantage of gunpowder."

"I'll keep saying this…" Duck thundered his fingers. "I like it."

The next animation played. "Alright, Slam, as its well known you like to smash and flatten things up." Tech said while the displayed vehicle showed a giant hammer going up to down heavily. "I chose to let the heavy stuff to you."

Slam growled with concurrence while crossing his arms, grinning gratefully.

"Now, Rev's." Tech waited for the next animation to play. "As you can see, your X-Pider's legs have special springs to give it the ability to jump great distances."

Rev nodded at what he was seeing. "It's okay I mean no it's actually awesome I already want to test it but hey we still don't know about yours."

Tech chuckled. "But of course, I left the best one for the end." He glanced at the screen, his vehicle had a big, metallic and circular magnet at the front. "With this, I'll be able to disarm all of those soldiers in a blink." The animation showed the magnet attracting several objects like weapons and scraps of metal. He turned and looked at his comrades. "Give me a couple of hours, and they'll be ready."

"Great job, Doc!" Ace approached him and patted his shoulder. "I knew you would find us a solution."

"Thanks, boss." Tech replied. "I'm sure they'll be ready by tomorrow's morning."

"You want any help with that?" Duck asked.

"Actually, I could u…" Tech just left the phrase unfinished as Duck had teleported to somewhere else.

Tech sighed. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me."

Ace chuckled. "Don't worry, you got eight more hands here to help build those things."

Slam snarled, feeling forced to help, he sighed and nodded after Ace's statement.

"As I said before…" Lexi approached them both. "I'll choose the paint."

"Seems fair to me." Tech grinned.

They all started to work on the vehicles, gathering more stuff in the lab at Tech's command, they were building the X-Piders step by step with the help of the diagrams Tech had printed, Ace was soldering a lever onto the first piece of his future vehicle while occasionally looking at his copy of the diagram he was holding with the other hand, to avoid making any mistakes.

Lexi was painting the eight legs of her X-Pider with a spray can of pink paint, she had arranged them on the floor, close the each other.

Duck was in the kitchen, looking for food in the cupboard, he struggled to find something tasty.

Rev was building his X-Pider way faster than the others, reading the diagrams with quick eye movements, and returning to his work space in a rush to apply the instructions with the tools he had at his side.

Duck gasped when he found a bag of chips at the bottom of the narrow cupboard, he reached the bag with some effort and opened it, smelling the salty snack, he intended to leave the kitchen at that moment, but then turned back to look for a bowl.

Slam was using no tools to build his vehicle, he used punches instead, basically forcing the pieces to stay together, a rough but efficient job.

Tech was moving the magnet across the lab with his powers, he then lowered it and by moving and adjusting some nuts and screws, he managed to attach it to his vehicle's systems successfully. After that, he went to the warehouse to look for more metal and tools as he took the responsibility too build Duck's X-Pider.

Duck was emptying the bag of chips onto the big, blue bowl he had put over the kitchen's table, he just left the empty bag on the floor before walking towards the lounge, but then he remembered something important, the chips needed some sauce, so he turned again and went to the cupboard to look for it.

After a couple of hours, as Tech had predicted, the X-Piders were finished, huge and bulky arachnid-shaped vehicles, with glass windows covering the cockpits, lots of levers and pulleys conformed the systems, analogical with no sign of electric components. The looks of five of them were the same, rusty like, industrial and rough, but Lexi's was completely covered in pink. "That woman doesn't know what awaits her with these beauties." Tech said, looking at his creations proudly.

"This will be interesting, I can't remember the last time I pedaled an actual bike." Lexi was referring to the X-Piders movement system, similar as a bike, just as she stated.

"Well, these shall get us in good shape then." Ace said. "Some exercise won't make us any harm."

"Did you just call me fat?" Lexi looked at him, with upset, joking eyes.

"No, I was just, uhm." Ace began to feel nervous. "You know me, I like to see the bright side of things sp…" He got interrupted when Lexi kissed his cheek suddenly.

Lexi chuckled. "It's so easy to fool you."

"Well the sun is already showing up I actually was on the lounge literally a couple of seconds ago and we should move fast to end with this soon." Rev said, the remnants of his red blur had vanished almost completely behind him.

Ace nodded. "I concur, Rev." He looked at Tech. "Doc, get the jet ready."

"On its way, boss." Tech left the lab in a hurry, heading to the hangar.

Lexi sighed. "I'll get the lazy one." When trying to leave, Ace stopped her.

"Not so fast, Lexi." Ace walked towards a toolbox that was on the floor, he took a spray-can of orange paint and walked towards Duck's X-Pider, he shook the can and then started to paint a word with it on the vehicle's back. He then looked at his comrades. "Slam, Lexi, Rev, come here and tell me what do you think."

The three Loonatics approached the vehicle and shared brief laughs at seeing what Ace had written on its surface. "It suits him." Lexi said.

"Yeah I would have written it on the window but that would have been dangerous for him I mean the guy is kinda annoying for me but not at that level." Rev opined.

Slam just laughed again, more exaggerated than the others.

Tech had finished preparing the jet, on his way to the lab, he saw Duck watching TV, sitting over the couch and eating the chips he had brought with him carelessly. "Hey Duck! We are leaving now!"

"One more minute, Tech." Duck pointed at the TV before eating a pair of chips. "I want to know what happened with Rosita's money." He said with his mouth full.

Tech grunted and walked towards him, he took the cloth of his suit behind his neck and began to drag him like a ragdoll towards the lab. "It was not a question, Duck."

Duck coughed repeatedly. "But I…" He started to overact a bit. "I…wanna...but…Rosi…" Tech ignored him and kept dragging him all the way towards the lab.

Meanwhile at Quantal, the three members of A.R.M. and Rebecca were walking stealthily between the people on the city's streets, watching over every spot to avoid encountering with more guards. "I hope you to be right, Peyton." Matt said. "Acmetropolis would be lost without them, if they are not there, that will be a reality."

"They will be there, Matt." Anne replied. "Where else could they be but in the dungeon?"

"Buried, gone." Matt said, keeping his tone low.

"The dungeon shouldn't be too fay away now." Rebecca stated. "We've walked for hours."

"Yeah, that doesn't me…" Matt stopped talking when seeing a big, cave-like, open entrance, protected by two guards at the distance. "Never mind." He looked at his teammates. "So...what's the plan, Peyton?"

Peyton raised an eyebrow, raising her hands with the palms aiming at him. "Don't look at me, I had the idea, but you're still, uhm, the plann-er?"

Matt sighed. "Okay." He turned and looked at the guards, trying to visualize a strategy. "Maybe…back to back…" He scratched his chin while thinking more, he finally took a decision. "Yeah, that will work." He whispered to himself then looked at Anne. "Back to back, honey." He said.

Anne nodded. "I was just about to propose that."

"What about me?" Peyton inquired.

"You wait here." Matt responded. "You are still not ready to fight."

Peyton couldn't come up with a solid argument against his statement. "Sure." She concluded, with subtle disappointment and shame.

"I'll take care of the child." Rebecca looked briefly at Peyton.

"Hey!" Peyton protested.

"Okay, then." Matt said and gestured towards the entrance, Anne understood the brief signal and they both hurried between the crowd.

The guards spotted them right on their way and readied their weapons, taking out the blades from their respective slots, Matt and Anne approached them with their backs facing the other's. Matt grasped the guard's weapon with both hands and with a quick push he got it away from his face, he punched the guard right on the snout after so, the guard's helmet protected him well, he replied to the hit with a quick maneuver of his weapon, aiming the blade at Matt's right arm, managing to cut through the cloth of his jacket and injure him, Matt groaned and covered his arm instantly, but he knew he needed to resist and keep rhythm, so he jumped despite of the pain he was feeling and kicked the guard with both feet on the chest, making him to fall. Matt stood up from the sand and approached the guard, he knelt down next to him and started to punch him several times, he took off his mask to reduce his advantage even more, revealing the bleeding face of the canine behind it, he gave a final, concluding punch and left the man unconscious, Matt gasped and stood up to help Anne with her own guard, she evaded the constant attacks that the guard threw with the sharp blade of the rifle, she crouched and jumped at his legs, caging them and bringing him down along with herself, she approached his face and grabbed his neck while kneeling down next to him, she punched his face strongly, managing to break the mask in the process, neutralizing him.

Anne stood up and dusted off her clothes, Matt was resting over the gray, rocky wall of the entrance, looking at her while sighing repeatedly. "Good job." Matt said, with a tone of tiredness. "I knew you would handle it." He groaned and rubbed his arm.

Anne chuckled with pride. "And you came to my aid nonetheless." She approached him and gasped at seeing the blood on his jacket. "Your arm…" She took his arm carefully.

"I'm fine…" Matt gently moved her hand away from his wound. "Let's find our friends."

Anne looked at the spot where Peyton and Rebecca were supposed to stay. "Uhm, Matt, where are…"

"We're here." Peyton said, she and Rebecca had met with them with no previous warning.

Anne gasped and jumped a bit, then sighed and shook her head. "Don't give me those scares, please."

"Got it." Peyton replied.

"Come on." Matt entered the dungeon, followed by Anne, Peyton and Rebecca.

The dungeon was like a cave with cells at the sides, the hallway where they walked seemed to have no ending and it was illuminated by small led lights. "This place looks so…empty." Peyton noticed that they hadn't encountered with any prisoner since they arrived.

"Maybe they're at the bottom." Matt opined. "They must be here, I know it."

Anne was thinking more pessimistically now, at every darkness that was revealed they only found more empty cells. "This is very strange." She said. "Where is everybody?"

"Dead." A familiar voice came from the darkness ahead of them, they all let out subtle gasps of fright, but kept walking into the darkness to find out who had spoke, the modest lights revealed that Adam was caged in the cell that Lyla had made for him, and that cell was inside another cell, the one from the dungeon.

"Adam!" Matt approached the cell hurriedly, followed by the others. "What are you doing here? What happened?"

"The answer to both questions is simple." Adam replied. "Evil, there's your answer."

"You'll need to be more specific." Anne got closer to the cell, grinning at him as a greet.

"Hi, Anne." Adam was sitting on a corner, against the bars of his cell, his gaze was lowered.

"Hi, Adam." Anne responded with friendly courtesy. "I wish we had met again at better circumstances."

"Bud." Matt said. "Where are the others?"

Adam shook his head. "I've answered that question already."

Matt felt a great despair inside him, he grasped the outer cell's bars with disbelief. "It cannot be."

"We are late." Anne lowered her head. "The Loonatics are gone."

Adam's eyes widened slightly then he looked at them. "The Loonatics?" He found out they had misinterpreted him. "They haven't been here."

Matt raised his gaze, he looked at Adam, reassured by the comment. "Then, who were you talking about when you said 'dead'?"

"The prisoners." Adam responded. "She killed them all."

"Your wife." Rebecca said. "How are you so sure?"

"She told me everything." Adam replied, with notorious disappointment on his eyes. "Then she caged me here."

"That's something I can solve." Matt took out his gun and shot at the cell's lock, but nothing happened. "Or not." He put away his weapon, slightly embarrassed.

"Now I regret making these bars so indestructible." Adam expressed. "Funny."

Matt sighed. "If only I had my powers to take you out of here, bud."

Adam looked at him behind the bars, concerned. "What happened to them?"

"I'm not sure." Matt replied. "But I think it has something to do with your wife."

Adam thought for a moment, then he shook his head and lowered his gaze. "She has overpassed me in so many ways." He sighed. "Not the same Lyla I created."

Everybody raised an eyebrow after the comment. "Did I just hear what I heard?" Peyton inquired.

"Uhm, could you explain yourself a little?" Rebecca asked.

"Sure." Matt responded and looked at them the best he could. "It all began not too long after I decided to build this city from scratch, my mind and my hands were the correct tools for the job, they have served me well." He looked away, gazing at a dark spot behind the team with nostalgia. "But I found out that wasn't all I wanted or needed, there was this, emptiness, inside my cognitions. Frustration came and I thought I would've never find the answer, until I saw her, I imagined her at my side, smiling at me and taking my hand with emotion, a beautiful woman to share my goals and achievements, Lyla, I named her, everything just started to form and all of a sudden she appeared in front of me and gave me that look I had seen only in dreams, she was like me, compassionate, enthusiastic, intelligent."

"Modest." Rebecca interrupted, grinning jokingly at him.

Adam just kept talking. "I gave her freedom, to be as she willed. But she misused it, as we just have discovered." Tears began to appear on the corner of his eyes. "I taught her love, mercy and service." One tear finally escaped. "She answered with hate, revenge and egoism."

Matt looked at Adam empathetically, he, as everyone else, noticed there was true sorrow in his words. "I'm sorry." Matt said.

Adam nodded, he was still wandering through his memories. "I appreciate your support, my friend." He sighed and looked at him. "But I'm afraid is useless, as my wife has won this battle." Adam glanced away from them. "Go, leave while you still have a chance."

Matt shook his head. "That won't happen, Adam."

Adam looked at him again, with eyes of warning and worry. "Leave this place, I beg you, she'll kill you all and that's a burden I'm not willing to carry for the rest of my days."

"You may be king." Anne crossed her arms and approached the bars of the cell. "But you can't make us leave, you are our friend and we will stay here, with you."

Adam grunted silently. "You don't understand, Anne, she is very powerful, you are nothing against her."

"That's true." Rebecca said, getting the team's attention. "She would crush us in a second, with no doubt." A tone of hope began to show up in her words. "But I know six people who can put an end to this." Rebecca looked at Adam. "Our duty now is to keep the king safe."

"I'm not worth the risk, good people." Adam insisted. "Honestly, I don't think our friends have a bigger chance than you four."

"Then believe it." Matt replied. "Is all we can do now."

The hangar's door at the Loonatics HQ was open and ready to let the jet come out. "All the systems are online." Tech reported from the cockpit.

"Alright, team, plan recall." Ace said from his seat. "We land on the desert, get in the spiders a…"

"X-Piders." Tech corrected, loudly from the cockpit.

Ace growled. "Okay, we get in the 'X'! Piders." He exclaimed that first letter. "And climb to the castle, stop the queen and rescue Adam, understood?" The team nodded at Ace's question.

"At your command, boss." Tech said.

Ace took a deep breath and grinned with hope and young confidence. "Let's jet, Doc!"

Tech accelerated and the jet left the hangar in a blink, en route to the desert. They had put the X-Piders on the storage area of the jet. The sun was rising on the horizon, the day of truth had arrived, there wasn't any kind of speech while they were approaching the desert, the team was focused on the mission, more focused and concentrated than ever, wanting to put and end to Lyla's reign of terror.

Lyla was standing at the edge of the new mountain, in front of the castle's entrance she was now wearing a polygonal crown on her head, black colored with glowing blue lights like gems, she sighted the Loonatics' jet coming from far away, she grinned with confidence and daring eyes then kneeled down and placed both hands on the white and porous surface of the mountain, she closed her eyes and began to raise her hands very slowly. From various spots, huge cannons began to pop out from the mountain's rocky surface, these weapons were made of the same material, porous and white, glowing red light could be seen emerging from their muzzles. She stood up and dusted her hands off, then she communicated with her soldiers using her mind powers. "Dear warriors, I'm afraid to tell you that this kingdom won't need your services anymore." She moved her hand to the left and for about a second she could hear all of the final screams of the soldiers, then it all turned into silence. She smirked evilly and began to return to the castle, getting inside and closing the doors with a single gesture, then she stopped walking at the middle of the way between the principal doors and the thrones. "Prepare for your last battle, Loonatics." She said with confidence.

The jet landed softly on the desert's sandy hills, then everyone came out rapidly from it, except for Tech, who pressed a button on the console of the jet and the back door began to open. He then exited the cockpit with a jump and approached the jet's back door along with the rest of them. The door opened completely and the Loonatics didn't hesitate to get in their respective X-Piders. "I'll explain again." Tech said while getting inside his vehicle through the hatch it had at the top. "Pedal to move, pull to attack." He put his seat belt on and began to pedal, making the legs of the spider to move with harmony, smoothly and with minimum effort, getting the vehicle out of the jet by the ramp that was touching the sand.

"Got it, Doc." Ace said while following the same steps as Tech before following him to the outside.

"Who did this?!" Duck exclaimed all of a sudden, angry and annoyed.

"What is it, Duck?" Lexi turned along with her vehicle with the help of the pedals and the steering wheel, same as the rest.

"Oh, don't play the innocents!" Duck aimed his hands at the backside of his X-Pider. "Lazy! L-A-Z-Y…oh when I find the one who did this…" He got inside the vehicle nonetheless and just followed the others.

"It was me, Duck." Ace confessed, with a mix of joke and seriousness on both his face and the tone of his voice. "You'll think it twice next time you decide to walk by instead of helping us out!" He tried to speak loudly as they had deactivated their comms.

Duck grunted. "You're… despicable."

"Come on I have to save my girlfriend you know Rebecca Moon the beautiful raccoon!" Rev said with desperation. "Oh, that rhymed guys!" His eyes widened a little, he was already in his vehicle.

"Don't worry, Rev." Ace said and made his vehicle to face Quantal's barriers. "Loonatics, time to put order here!"

The team headed to the city, driving their odd, arachnid machines, attentive to any kind of traps that could appear on their way. The path towards the danger had been strangely calm, but things were about to change. They reached the barrier of Quantal, Ace looked at his side, upwards. "Can these things climb walls, Doc?"

Tech chuckled. "Of course they can, boss!" He moved his X-Pider towards the white barrier and the vehicle automatically started to climb it. "Follow my lead!"

"You heard him!" Ace stated and also took his vehicle to the wall's end, the X-Pider attached its eight legs to the wall easily and it began to climb just as Tech's.

"I hope this doesn't get me dizzy or something." Lexi said as her X-Pider went completely vertical.

"Oh, you can stay here if you want to." Duck replied, having got his X-Pider in position, same as Rev and Slam.

Lexi grunted and moved fast towards Duck's vehicle, hitting it with purpose, almost making it to fall. "You were saying?!"

When Duck recovered from the hit, the vehicle was still shaking, he then looked at her through the X-Pider's window, pissed off. "You can't stand a single joke, can you?!"

"The same way you did with Ace's little prank?" Lexi raised an eyebrow, smirking a little.

"It's n…" Duck sighed. "Whatever."

"Be careful down there!" Tech warned.

The X-Piders reached the top of the wall rapidly. "Just keep moving!" Tech instructed, they followed his command and the X-Piders began to descend towards Quantal's ground over the wall.

The six vehicles reached land safely, Lexi felt relieved when the vehicle was facing frontwards again. "Alright." She looked at the castle over the top of the mountain. "Now for the big one."

Slam growled while raising an eyebrow, having thought she was talking about him.

"I think she refers to the mountain, Slam." Ace clarified.

Slam thought for a moment, he then growled when understanding Ace's explanation.

"No more time to loose, g…" Tech gasped as he suddenly felt weaker and different, the same way he had felt when his powers were gone before. "It has begun, guys."

"I felt it too, Doc." Ace said. "It's up to your 'beauties' now."

"And…we are lost then." Duck commented.

"What are you talking about? If you do the proper study you'll see that it is thanks to my inven…" Tech was interrupted.

"Discuss later." Ace ordered. "It's show time."

Lyla had her eyes closed, she sensed the presence of the six heroes. "Show me the best of you, Loonatics, as you'll need it more than ever before." She readied the cannons with a circular movement over the throne room's floor.

The X-Piders approached the mountain, Ace looked up and saw the huge cannons that were aiming at them. "Were those things there before, Doc?"

Tech delayed to respond as he analyzed what he could of the weapons' composition. "Negative, boss." He replied. "And I don't think they're for fireworks."

"If I had my brain blast, I would be dealing with them already." Lexi complained.

"Trust me." Tech replied. "These things will suffice." He started to move forward, right towards the mountain's first rocks.

"We can do this, team." Ace said. "Just keep moving."

Each one of them began to pedal towards the mountain, not too much before getting the vehicles' multiple legs over its white and rocky surface. They all had one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the lever that hung from the ceiling. The six vehicles were facing upwards, maintaining their vertical paths and moving one leg at a time, with cautious steps. "I'm getting tired already!" Duck complained all of a sudden, getting no response.

Lyla let out a confident chuckle, she moved her hands slightly backwards. "And the Battle of the Mountain begins."

The cannons began to glow more intensely, the red light almost covered their own surroundings uniformly. "Attack!" Ace exclaimed and aimed his vehicle at the cannon, he pulled the lever at his right side and the flames of his X-Pider came out rapidly, reaching the cannon right when it was about to shoot a charge, overheating it and making it to explode into numerous, little pieces of burning rock and red cubes that fell down all the way to the ground that was already several meters below them, some pieces hit the vehicles, but they only gave them a few scratches and dents.

Lyla was coughing as she had been directly affected by the attack. She screamed with rage and began to charge more cannons. "You dared to challenge me! And I shall not be humiliated!"

Duck grunted. "Good job, Ace! You pissed her off!"

"Now it's late to argue, Duck!" Ace responded as he counted how many cannons were aiming at them. "Those are two for each one, team!" He stated and kept pedaling.

"Practice those gaming skills, Lexi!" Rev said in a challenging way.

Lexi grinned. "With pleasure." One of the cannons she was aiming at shot a charge, a huge red cube that glowed like the sun, she gasped by the sudden attack and before it could get closer to her vehicle she pulled the lever and the X-Pider shot a glowing white ray that collided with the cubic projectile, it decomposed instantly into floating ashes after a silent but bright explosion.

"Yeah!" Lexi celebrated. "I'm the best!"

"Not so fast." Rev pulled the lever and his vehicle jumped forward, getting rather far from the others, he had aimed at a cannon so thanks to the jump's impulse he crushed the loading weapon with the vehicle's heaviness, not without scraps and cubes falling after an explosion. "Now who's the best?!" Rev raised his fist with joy.

Not too long after Rev's success, Slam approached two cannons that were particularly close to each other, he pulled his X-Pider's lever and the hammer went from the top of the vehicle to the cannon instantly, smashing it into hundreds of pieces, he immediately pulled the lever again, then he repeated but aiming at the other cannon, the hammer did its job by crushing the weapon right on time. A growing cloud of black smoke started to come out from the remains of the cannons, Slam growled arrogantly and pedaled in a random way to simulate celebration.

"I'm glad you are having fun, guys, but this ain't no game at all!" Tech argued.

"Oh, you're such a killjoy." Lexi replied.

"You wanna see high scores?!" Duck thundered his fingers. "Just watch!" Without previous study, he started to shoot the rocks of his vehicle, which came out covered in flames, most of them just didn't hit anything, but some got inside the muzzles of a cannon, obstructing it, the weapon began to malfunction and it exploded with its own charge, turning into randomly flying red cubes. "That's Danger Duck for you!"

They kept advancing and destroying the weapons that got in their way with the help of the X-Piders' weapons, Lyla was getting furious as she sensed their successful attacks, she focused on the three most effective at the time, Duck, Slam and Rev, she made two cannons to appear by the sides of each one of them, charging already.

"Woah!" Duck gasped with fright by seeing the bright and menacing red glow just a few inches next to his vehicle, he didn't figure out what to do soon enough, his hands couldn't decide between the lever or the steering wheel, there was a worrying uncertainty among them, Slam and Rev were at the same situation as Duck, the other three, Ace, Lexi and Tech were too busy fighting the cannons on the upper levels of the mountain to notice the big trouble their comrades were in. That moment was certainly brief and the cannons shot their charges.

The three X-Piders got destroyed, turned into falling red cubes, the three Loonatics started to fall all the way down to the bottom, hitting several rocks, gasping and groaning by the constant hits they received while falling. The three finally hit the ground, Slam did so in a much greater scale.

As Tech was practically just watching over Ace and Lexi, because his magnet wasn't working with Lyla's weapons, he turned around with the pedals and the steering wheel to try to spot new targets, he gasped at seeing his friends getting off the ground slowly and with great effort, having found out their respective vehicles had been destroyed. "Guys! Are you okay?!" He said worriedly. "What happened?!"

Duck coughed as Slam helped him to stand up, Slam had been the one who took the impact less gravely, Rev just stood up on his own, rubbing his arm as he had fallen right over it. "Not good!" Duck yelled, looking up, glancing at Tech.

"We got cornered by those things and it was literally..." Rev rubbed his head, he was having a headache provoked by the hit. "…impossible for us to stop them!" He concluded.

Slam growled with strength, confirming what Rev had said.

Tech sighed. "Hold on! We'll finish this up here." He turned a bit at hearing a blast that happened behind him. "Look for A.R.M.! They must be in trouble!"

Duck was recovering his breath, the pain of the great fall was still present. He finally looked up again and nodded. "What else can we do, anyway?!" It was his way of accepting orders.

Tech nodded. "Go, then!" He turned around with his vehicle and pedaled towards the battle that grew between Ace, Lexi and Lyla's weapons.

"Lexi!" Ace exclaimed when he saw five cannons stacking up in front of them, knowing they needed to attack together. He looked at her through his vehicle's window. "Couple blast!"

"You've learned!" Lexi responded with emotion, she and her boyfriend got in position and pulled their vehicle's levers, Ace's X-Pider shot fire and Lexi's threw rays, they merged and turned into a solid ray that was hitting directly on the group of cannons, they started to shine white as stars that were about to explode, thing that happened sooner than they expected.

The explosion's sound reached the ears of the Loonatics that were looking for A.R.M. "Whoa!" Duck stopped running and turned to admire the enormous amount of light that was coming from a tall spot of the mountain.

"I hope that means they are doing well not that they're long gone and done!" Rev said with a mix of optimism and worry.

Slam growled, encouraging them to keep searching. He gave a final look at the dimming light then resumed his hurry, followed by Rev and Duck.

Lyla was laying on the floor, having felt the strength of the explosion. She got on her knees with unexpected effort, groaning by the pain. She raised her gaze and looked at the door, assuming it was their target, she growled and stood up after a gasp product of the continuous pain. "Bring it on…" She adopted a position of defense. "Bring it on!" She yelled with desperation.

"Engage! Now!" Ace commanded and pedaled the fastest he could, followed by Tech and Lexi, who were also giving their most at the demanding task. The three vehicles reached the horizontal ground before the castle's facade. The Loonatics took a moment to regain their breath. "Now…" Ace breathed deeply before finishing his order. "Destroy…Destroy that door!" He pointed at the castle's tall door, he pedaled forward to get right in front of it, Lexi and Tech got at his sides, Ace just began to shoot the fire of his vehicle at the door, Lexi did the same with her X-Pider's ray, the door started to make cracking sounds, cracks began to grow from the center to its four corners. Ace and Lexi stopped firing, having weakened the door successfully, Tech pedaled towards the door and with a maneuver, he managed to hit the door with the front of his vehicle, destroying it and revealing the castle's inside after all the remains fell. "Good job, team!" Ace praised. He entered the castle after Tech did, Lexi entered last.

Lyla formed two grenades over the palms of her hands, they were floating black spheres with a strange bright. "Do you think you can stop progress?" She stared at them angrily, her voice was slightly broken. "It is imminent." She took a step forward. "I am that progress."

"You call killing…progress?" Lexi asked.

"I kill those who deserve to be killed!" Lyla got more uneasy on a finger snap.

"And who may be those, Queen of Quantal?" Ace pedaled forward.

"Thieves, kidnappers…" Lyla began to walk towards them. "Murderers."

"Tell me something, Lyla." Tech said, being helped by the castle's echo. "What makes you different from them? You do exactly the same thing, and you know it."

"I…" Lyla growled. "There is no other way!"

"You are wrong." Ace said, they were already a pair of meters in front of the queen. "There are other ways, much more than you imagine."

"Slow…" Lyla replied. "Ineffective."

"It's all about strength, Lyla." Lexi said. "Strength to face challenges, to help the wrongdoers to be better, brick by brick, not to take the easy route."

"That's…" Lyla couldn't come up with an adequate answer, she was cornered, in many ways. All she could do was to scream with desperation after being unable to throw another justifying word, she moved her arm back to throw the first grenade. "I am the progress! For my kingdom! For the world! For the universe!" Lyla threw the first grenade at Ace, who reacted fast enough to shoot at it with the fire of his vehicle, it made it explode in thousands of black cubes that floated briefly then just vanished in the air.

"Split!" Ace commanded, Lexi and Tech obeyed the order and went to different sides of the throne room with quick pedaling, Lyla didn't hesitate to throw the other grenade, she aimed it at Lexi, who pulled the lever just in time to electrify the grenade, which exploded and emitted a louder noise than the previous one did, the lighting covered cubes disappeared after so, Lexi took advantage of the moment and shot her ray at Lyla, who flew towards a wall while being electrocuted, she hit the wall so hard that a crack formed on its white surface, she gasped and fell to the ground, then Lexi stopped shooting.

Lyla groaned by the lightning that was still hurting her, she tried to get into her feet but the pain was stronger than her at that moment, she gazed at Lexi with eyes of hate. "You…will pay for that!"

"Face it, princess." Tech said, pedaling towards her. "You're done."

Lyla growled and started to stand up, screaming and rubbing her aching arm. When she got fully into her feet, she closed her hand as if she was wielding something, an exaggeratedly tall and sharp sword appeared right after so like a pixelated video transition. "Your lives are mine, Loonatics!" She made a quick, menacing movement with the sword. "Come and end this!"

"With pleasure." Lexi pedaled fast towards her before she could attack Tech, she got between the upcoming hit and her comrade, the X-Pider trembled violently with the attack, but it resisted, as Lyla had hit its metallic surface. Tech gained time to back away and let Ace team up with Lexi to take Lyla down.

"Want some help?" Ace arrived and shot a large flame at Lyla, who screamed and got on her knees, totally on fire, but still holding the sword, she started to surround herself on a wet looking, black matter, which covered her completely for a few seconds, then it melted and revealed her, free from the fire and the pain.

Lyla breathed deeply and slowly, tiredness began to affect her, a sudden chuckle of pride came from her, she then let out a couple more and stood up while staring at the floor. "Your tricks are childish, useless, and futile." She looked at Ace, backing away her sword. "But mine shall end you now!" She ran towards him and began to hit his vehicle with the sword, enraged, not letting him to even move back, she spotted the weapon on the top of the X-Pider, so she jumped and cut it in half cleanly.

Ace tried to activate the weapon, but the flamethrower was no more. "Hey! That's against the rules!"

Lyla grinned and prepared to throw another attack. "There are no rules here, bunny." She lifted the sword and threw another hit, but Ace shielded from it with the frontal legs of the X-Pider, managing to stand just on the legs of the back. Lyla gasped as she found it hard to move the sword a single inch towards him. "I got to admit…" Lyla said. "You know how to cause trouble."

"You…" Ace tried to pedal but Lyla's insistent attack was very strong. "…have no idea!" He screamed by the effort and managed to pedal enough to push Lyla, who fell on her back next to her sword.

As soon as Lyla tried to recover, Lexi started to shoot at her with her ray, making her to scream and shake over the floor. "You like that?!" Lexi exclaimed with mockery, electrocuting her continuously.

"P…" Lyla's tearful eyes looked at Lexi. "P…please!" She let out a scream of suffering. "Stop!"

"Lexi!" Ace exclaimed, stating it was more than enough.

Lexi immediately obeyed him, stopping the attack, knowing she had crossed the line. "Right." She sighed and thought for a moment about what had happened. "Okay." She started to feel ashamed.

Ace nodded at her with a straight face, he then pedaled cautiously towards Lyla, who seemed to have fainted, Tech approached her from behind with less caution. "That's it?" Tech inquired, Lyla was still being surrounded by intermittent lighting. He got a bit closer to her, looking at her from above through the X-Pider's window. "I can't see any signs of…" His words weren't faster than the sudden recovery of Lyla, who took her sword and punctured Tech's vehicle all the way through, getting through his side.

"Gah!" Tech exclaimed with unbearable pain.

"Tech!" Ace growled and pedaled towards Lyla, hitting her with the vehicle, sending her a few meters away from them.

"Hold on!" Lexi approached Tech with her vehicle, she then opened the hatch and jumped out of the X-Pider. "Hold on, Doc…" She repeated, wielding the sword that Lyla had left embedded on the vehicle, she began to pull it, making Tech to scream even more, groaning while the blade was getting out. "Just one more sec…" Lexi gave a final pull, getting the sword out of him and the vehicle, she dropped the sword and immediately climbed the X-Pider to reach for the hatch.

Ace was dealing with Lyla, he had cornered her between two columns, throwing fire at her with no stop. "Is over!" Ace exclaimed and got right in front of her.

Lyla was resisting the fire much better than the average person would do, even better than any Loonatic could, but it still weakened her, the pain the heat was causing her was increasing, it did so until the point she knelt down in front of Ace, raising her hands as if she was about to fabricate another weapon with her last strengths. "You…" Lyla expressed with a broken voice. "Are no riv…" The fire stopped suddenly, in exchange for continuous hits of the X-Pider's frontal legs, Ace was moving the pedals and the steering wheel harmonically to hit her face, left to right and so on, with growing desperation as it seemed to be ineffective. When he judged it was enough, at seeing her eyes closed behind the fastness of his attacks, he stopped and got his vehicle totally horizontal again. Lyla laid between the columns, hurt, unconscious, defeated, no scars or burns could be seen on her but the victory was real this time.

Ace gasped and sighed continuously while watching over her, just in case it was another trick. When he got sure it wasn't, he got out of his vehicle with a jump, then hurried towards Lexi and Tech.

Tech groaned when Lexi helped him to sit on the floor with his back resting on a wall, his side was bleeding and the wound was deep. "It's…far worse than I thought." He said while rubbing his wound, looking at it with anxious eyes, which were also lost and tearful.

"Don't worry, Tech." Lexi reassured. "Everything will be okay."

Ace approached them and knelt down next to his comrade. "Come on, man." He helped him to stand up with serious struggle, constant growls and groans came from Tech. "We gotta go." Ace said while handing him to Lexi.

Lexi helped Tech to stand on his feet by supporting him with her arm under his. "You'll be fine, Tech." Lexi started to take him to her vehicle carefully.

"I'll take the queen." Ace informed. "Let's find the others."

After Ace and Lexi dealt with the difficult task of getting their passengers, Lyla and Tech, inside their vehicles, they exited the castle and climbed all the way down to the city. The X-Piders reached the ground, Ace and Lexi knew the heavy vehicles were about to become a burden so they exited them. Lexi was careful of not hurting Tech while getting him out. "Just keep up with my steps." She advised when they both got their feet on the sand.

Ace was carrying Lyla, he looked at his surroundings, unsure of where to go, until his comm started to beep. "We found them, Ace, we are at the dungeon." Duck's voice sounded from the comm's speakers. "We are with the king…and the others."

Lexi activated her comm to speak with him. "Understood, Duck." She replied. "We beat the queen, we'll be with you in brief."

"Go east." Duck told, then he cut the communication.

On their way to the dungeon, the people of the streets looked at them with concern and confusion, specially at seeing Ace carrying their queen, unconscious and defeated, but Ace and Lexi had other stuff to worry about. "Our powers are back, Doc." Ace said. "You'll heal."

Tech groaned when the steps started to get heavier for him to take, his sight was getting blurry and the sounds and voices were making echo. "I'…" He coughed violently then sighed weakly. "I don't think that's happening."

"Your healing powers, Tech." Lexi thought he was too hurt to understand, even with his prestigious mind. "They'll get you better."

"If that was the case….they would have done that already." Tech responded hopelessly.

Ace tested his laser vision, he burned a bit of sand on the ground then looked at Tech. "They're back, Doc." He stated. "You'll get better."

While walking, Tech lost balance but Lexi stopped him from falling. "Maybe…my powers were absent…" He coughed. "…for too long."

"Hold on." Ace looked at the horizon. "Just a bit more."

Meanwhile at the dungeon, Duck, Rev, and Slam were sitting on the ground among the three A.R.M. members and Rebecca, Adam was laying in his cage, sleeping. "I'm glad this is over." Matt sighed with relief. "Honestly, at times I thought we weren't going to pull this one off, none of us." He looked at Adam. "Now he will find peace."

"Maybe in a while." Anne added. "He'll still be alone."

"Well, I wouldn't want to spend even a single more minute with a mad woman like her." Matt opined, referring to Lyla.

"It is far more complicated than that." Rev said, he was holding the hand of his girlfriend. "When you find the woman with who you'll spend the eternity there's no turning back from that, Matt, and you should know that well."

Matt thought about Rev's comment, in which he found nothing to object, he rested his head on Anne's arm, thinking of Adam's face of despair. "You are right, Rev." Matt said. "It won't be easy for him."

"What is taking them so long to come? They sh.." Duck stopped complaining when hearing steps coming from the dungeon's hallway. He stood up along with Rev, Rebecca and Slam, Matt, Anne and Peyton also got into their feet, Adam opened his eyes slowly and turned his gaze to the tunnel.

Ace arrived, lowering Lyla carefully on the ground, Adam noticed she was unconscious and pointed his sight at his cell's bars, which disintegrated along with the cage's base. He fell not so gracefully, he got up quickly and also got rid of the bars of the dungeon's cell, exiting to see his wife more closely. He looked at her with disappointment but love was still showing on his eyes, he glared at Ace and nodded subtly. "Thank you."

Lexi and Tech arrived briefly afterwards, she helped him to lay on the ground against a corner, he groaned with pain as he rested his head on the wall. He looked at everybody, who were looking at him with worry. "Hi…" He gasped and rubbed his wound.

Duck gasped. "What happened?" He asked Ace.

"She punctured him with a sword." Ace answered. "His healing powers aren't working."

Rebecca walked towards him and knelt down next to him, studying his wounded side. "He has lost so much blood." She said, then looked at the rest.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Matt inquired. "Let's take him to a hospital, we s…"

"No…" Tech groaned. "It's too late, guys." He sighed, tears were forming on his eyes. "Just, let me say something."

"Tech…" Lexi expressed with a broken voice. She kneeled down, same as the others.

"Just…" Tech coughed. "Hear me out." He looked at Slam. "Big guy…don't forget that move I taught you." He gasped. "It will do wonders."

Slam grunted with deep sadness.

Tech looked at Duck. "You are the most annoying person I've ever met, Duck." He smirked. "But know that there is no heart bigger than yours." Despite his words, Duck's eyes were full of negation and disbelief. "Lexi." He glanced at her. "Your selfless soul is one of few, keep putting the others first, I beg you." She had an uncontainable lump in her throat. Tech glared at Rev. "Keep inventing, don't waste your potential, keep speaking your mind, honesty is something that this world needs so much." Rev just nodded but couldn't hide the sorrow he shared with the others. Lastly, Tech looked at Ace, who was kneeling down at his side. "Boss." He said. "I never deserved such a great leader, you took me to places I could only picture in dreams." He coughed a couple of times. "You made me a better person." Tech glanced at the ceiling, getting lost on its darkness. "Move…forward." His voice was getting tired. "Tell Susan that she is the best thing that ever happened to me." He recovered some air to finish what he was saying. "Tell her... that I love her." He began to breathe slowly and calmly, his eyes looked completely lost and forgotten, Ace started to cry in silence, Duck tried to hide his feelings but on the inside, he was as devastated as Lexi who was crying loudly and was hugging him, not wanting to let him go, Matt, Anne and Peyton were tearful just as the rest.

"Don't go." Lexi said with a broken voice. "Please." She sobbed and kept hugging him.

Everyone around him mourned and cry hopelessly, destroyed, lost in waves of sadness. Adam walked towards him and knelt down next to Ace, doubtful and troubled, but he knew he had to try. Slowly, he placed his hand on Tech's wound, Ace just looked with intrigue, same as the rest. Adam closed his eyes and started to breathe deeply, his hand started to glow, making the wound to disappear gradually. "I renounce." He said. "Keep dreaming, hero of Acmetropolis." The glow suddenly got brighter and in a blink, it disappeared.

Tech started to breathe again, his eyes regained the light that was briefly lost, Lexi looked up and saw his face of astonishment, she smiled and let out a cry of happiness. "I thought we had lost you!" She hugged him stronger than before.

"M…Me too." Tech looked around, confused, then he glanced at where his wound was, finding nothing. "How…" He looked at Adam, who smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"The world still needs you, Tech E. Coyote." Adam responded. "I'll be fine without my gifts."

"You gave up your powers, to save me?" Tech asked.

"That's what a true friend would do." Adam said.

Ace hugged Tech followed by the rest of the Loonatics, almost asphyxiating him. "We missed you, Doc!" He stated.

"Even if you were gone literally for a few minutes!" Rev said.

Rebecca let out a chuckle of happiness and hope. A.R.M. was just as happy as the Loonatics.

Lyla opened her eyes rapidly, like if she had been woken up with a bucket of cold water. She got up with a jump and aimed her hands at them. "Now I will destroy you! Loonatics! All of you will perish!" She moved her hands at them aggressively, she did so again after seeing nothing had happened. "What?!"

"My love." Adam said, Matt and Anne ran rapidly to get behind her and held her arms to prevent her to escape. "My powers are gone." He explained. "I renounced."

Lyla frowned and put an expression of great anger and confusion. "But…what about mine?!"

"You are linked to me." Adam answered. "So were your abilities."

Lyla gasped and glanced down. "Why…Why did you gave up something that great? Now we are like the rest, weak and limited."

"Yes." Adam responded. "And that's good."

"Well, let's get you to your new home." Matt said and he and Anne started to take her to the annex cell.

Adam raised his hand. "Wait." They both stooped and he walked towards his wife. She stared at him with eyes of hatred. "Oh, my dear." He caressed her face. "You will spend many years inside this prison." He placed both hands on her cheeks. "But I'll wait for you." He kissed her. "I'll visit you everyday, as you are still my sun in the morning." After that, he let the two agents get her inside the cell.

Later, Adam, A.R.M., Rebecca and the Loonatics gathered in front of the city's gates, surrounded by thankful citizens, even Bridget, who had just got the bad news. "Your husband will be remembered, ma'am." Adam was hugging her with compassion.

Bridget sobbed. "Thanks, my king." She broke the hug and walked away, getting lost in the crowd.

Adam sighed and turned to face his comrades. "Your duty here is done, Loonatics and friends."

"And friends…" Matt mumbled with a pinch of annoyance.

"You'll always be welcomed guests here at Quantal, for your service in favor of life, mercy and justice." Adam looked at his people. "Values we'll defend with honor and courage!" He raised his fist, the people did the same and started to yell the city's name.

Tech approached him. "Again, thanks for saving me, your highness." He extended his hand but received a friendly hug in exchange.

"Is nothing, my friend." Adam broke the hug. "Now I'm free." The gates opened behind the team. "Now go! And fight for the people, brothers and sisters!"

Susan was in her apartment, sleeping on the couch, snoring with a pile of opened books on the floor at her side, the moonlight passed shyly through the curtains, then she heard a couple of knocks on the principal door. She stood up and yawned while approaching the door, she then opened it and gasped with a smile at seeing her boyfriend. Tech just returned the smile and leaned forward, kissing her with surprise, feeling thankful and full of joy, knowing what he had in his life.

Rev and Rebecca were dining at a pizza parlor in the mall, the two of them were laughing and talking while sharing glares of love and trust.

At the HQ's lounge, Duck and Slam were arguing in front of a retro videogame console that was connected to the TV, Duck teleported behind Slam's head and started to slap him, Slam growled and ran towards a wall and hurt Duck with that, making the lounge to tremble.

Ace and Lexi were holding each others hands in the kitchen, he began to move his feet gracefully, same as her, their movements were synchronized and their eyes were locked into the other's, they danced, turned and laughed all night, letting life to flow and move while they still had the chance.

-Author's note-

Thank you very much for reading, I really hope you liked this arc, because Quantal will play a key role in the next one: Loonatics United: Cataclysm, the first macro-event of this saga, which is something very special to me and reveals just how much support this story has been receiving since I published it, I thank God for all of you, readers, you are awesome. Stay tuned for Cataclysm!

Happy Holy Week and God bless you.

Grant


	37. Episode 37: Cataclysm (part 1)

Loonatics: United

Episode 37: Cataclysm (part 1)

It was a normal day in Acmetropolis' prison, Quentin was sitting at the table on the corner of the dining room, eating the thin, defrosted tuna sandwich he had been given for lunch, just as the other prisoners. Magnus arrived, the guard that took him there just stood surveillant next to the area's door, letting Magnus to get in line to get his food. When getting his portion, he looked for an empty table, he had already spotted Quentin at the room's bottom but he tried to find another table, but all of them were full, he grunted and headed to where Quentin was sitting down, then sat down in front of him and started to eat his sandwich.

Quentin hesitated a bit to talk to him, as Magnus was one of those who doesn't like to be bothered while eating, specially when fish is involved, but he took the risk, finally. "Today is the day, friend of mine."

Magnus grunted. "I'm eating." He said with his mouth full and munched his sandwich again.

Quentin let out a chuckle. "You don't understand." He adopted a relaxed position, putting his hands behind his nape. "We'll get out of here, tonight."

Magnus hit the table with his clenched fist, then looked around to see if any guard had heard Quentin's words. After noticing no guard had heard him, he glanced at Quentin, frowning. "Couldn't you speak a little bit louder, dummy?!" He mumbled with sarcasm.

"I'm just too happy, Magnus." Quentin replied. "No one will stop this."

Magnus growled. "Well, I'm sorry to ruin your illusions, Quintana, but you are forgetting a small detail." He looked back a bit to confirm no one was hearing them, then he glanced back at him. "The Loonatics."

Quentin chuckled carelessly. "That's the best part of it." He placed both hands over the table. "They'll be too busy to frustrate this."

Magnus raised an eyebrow and put his sandwich on the plate then crossed his arms. "I'm listening."

Quentin nodded. "I'm glad you are finally willing to…"

"Speak…Quintana." Magnus said impatiently.

Quentin sighed. "Alright." He took a deep breath and looked at him. "They are coming, Magnus, the foreigners I've been tracking for so long…they are close to the planet."

Magnus expressed disbelief and covered his face with a hand. "Tell me you aren't talking about that alien stuff."

"Indeed." Quentin replied. "That is exactly what I'm talking about."

"Let me tell you something, genius." Magnus put a straight face. "Even if there are one hundred invasions coming to the planet, there is no way we can get out of this place."

"Another brilliant statement, Magnus." Quentin nodded. "She will take care of that part."

Magnus sighed, then thought about Quentin's response for a second, before looking at him with a straight face. "Did she get the earring?"

Quentin smirked and nodded. "Now it's just a matter of time."

At midnight, the next day, Tech was sitting in front of the lab's main computer, pressing keys with anxiety, with his eyes locked at the monitor, which displayed a graphical view of an enormous object approaching the planet, traveling fast through space, and rapidly getting close to Acmetropolis' orbit. He calculated the time of arrival with a command, then he gasped at seeing it was worryingly soon, so he stood up hurriedly and exited the lab. He arrived at the lounge and activated the alarm to warn his comrades.

Ace was the first to come out of his room, wearing his bodysuit already and approaching Tech. "What is it, Doc?"

"A mothership, boss, a very big one." Tech replied. "It's heading to the planet." The alarm suddenly stooped sounding.

Almost at the same time, the rest of the team got out of their respective rooms, Rev being the fastest in that task, meeting with them. "Finally! A decent alarm!" Duck opined.

Slam growled, disagreeing with Duck's opinion.

"I agree with Duck, actually, this noise is less annoying I guess it is because of the lower pitch it h…" Rev was interrupted.

"Guys, do we really have to do this every time we hear it?" Lexi complained while rolling up her eyes.

"Lexi is right, we must focus." Ace ordered.

"Focus on what? We don't even know what's going on!" Duck replied.

Tech sighed. "An unknown ship is coming to the planet, guessing by the analysis I did at the lab, it comes with hostile intentions."

"How much time do we have?" Ace inquired.

"Less than twenty four hours." Tech responded.

Ace nodded and glanced at Duck, Lexi and Rev. "Okay, this is the plan, you three, put on your exosuits and use the jet to infiltrate in the mothership and stop it from getting to the planet, Slam, Tech and I will stay here just in case things go wrong."

"Good to know you trust us." Duck crossed his arms, a bit offended.

Ace sighed. "Just…" He knew it was useless to argue so he just glanced at Tech. "Get the jet ready for them, Doc."

Meanwhile, at the prison, Quentin was sitting at his desktop, holding his pocket PC, looking at the readings its screen displayed, he grinned when managing to interpret them, knowing the ship was close, therefore being sure the Loonatics wouldn't represent a problem for his escape, as they would be too distracted and busy dealing with that.

A couple of minutes later, the hallway's white lights went off and the red hidden lights on the ceiling activated along with an ongoing alarm, Quentin smiled again with that.

Heather was confronting a group of guards in a hallway, still in the women's area of the prison, she extended her arms to her sides, ignoring the guards' weapons pointing at her in a manner of warning, she then clenched her fists and with that glitched the walls, crushing the guards with the solid, transparent mix of concrete and glitch, then she lowered her arms and the manipulated walls turned back to normal and to their former place. She chuckled proudly and kept running, while doing so, she took out a note from one of her orange uniform's bags and read it, it had two cell numbers and indicated they were in the men's area of the prison. She didn't have a map or anything that could tell her where exactly to go, she just ran confident that she would find what she was asked to in Quentin's note.

The exit gate was ahead, she could see other cells behind its bars, that was the moment where she knew she had found the entrance to the men's area. Before she could get closer, another group of guards intercepted her, she just raised her hands, ready to prepare another attack, she considered leaving without the people behind the note, but she thought it would be a wasted opportunity, to get back into business again, with a potential criminal gang, that's what she had in mind, and with a battle scream she glitched the ceiling and then lowered her arms to make a barrier between her and the guards, who started to shoot at her as they could still see her through the glitch transparency, but the lasers just vanished when colliding with the barrier. Heather then ran towards the barrier and re-glitched it to be able to move it forward, thing she accomplished as with her palms facing the barrier she pushed it and with that hit the guards, destroying the gate with the wall and her adversaries. When knowing she had defeated them and destroyed the gate completely, she clenched her fists and lowered her arms, making the glitched wall to slide downside, disappearing and merging with the gray floor. She ran past the dead guards, ignoring the pleads of the male prisoners to free them.

Magnus was holding his cell's bars, trying to get a good look of the hallway, looking at the sides to see if what Quentin had been telling him was actually true, that they would escape that night. Heather stopped running right in front of the cell, Magnus backed away a bit, she looked briefly at the painted number at the side of the cell, knowing it was the correct one. She approached the cell and grasped two of its metallic bars then she moved her hands inwards and glitched them, then she separated them from the cell, having made them almost weightless, she then let go off the bars, which floated like feathers until reaching the floor. She looked at Magnus. "We gotta go, now."

"Uhm…" Magnus was surprised as he had doubted greatly about Quentin's words. "Okay." He just walked out of the cell through the narrow space that Heather had opened, then she looked at the note again and finally glanced at her right.

"This way." Heather commanded before hurrying towards the stairway she spotted at the hallway's end, followed by Magnus.

Quentin was laying on his cot, looking at the ceiling, painted red by the alarm's lights, the sound of the alarm was like music for his ears, his smirk was intact as he knew the plan was working.

Meanwhile, after getting upstairs to the floor where Quentin's cell was, Heather was constantly hitting a pair of guards with two big pieces of glitched concrete she had formed, while Magnus was fighting with other two guards, evading their kicks and punches, while his own never failed to hurt them. With a final strike, having glitched the floor below the guards to make the concrete blocks situate below their feet, Heather raised the blocks of glitched concrete to lift them towards to the ceiling, they hit it hard and then fell to the floor, unconscious. Magnus was kneeling a guard on the stomach, holding him with both arms, the other guard was trying to bring him down but Magnus was stronger than him, he finally kneeled the guard's face and neutralized him then he turned and punched the remaining guard on the face, making him to smash the wall at his side and falling down unconscious.

After recovering their breaths, Heather looked at Magnus. "Keep moving, those won't be the last they send." She glanced at the numbers of the cells at her sides then started to rush forward. "Hurry!" Magnus followed her, thinking they could just have escaped without Quentin, as he considered they were losing valuable time in his rescue.

Quentin was packing his stuff in an old backpack, his pocket PC, tools, books and other things, then he put the backpack on and turned to face the cell's door, then Heather and Magnus arrived. He looked at them with a smirk. "Just in time."

Heather aimed her hands at the door and glitched it, making it to turn into hundreds of little, polygonal floating pieces, then she moved her hands to the right and made the pieces to get away of Quentin's path. She let him walk out of the cell, a weird silence was suddenly between them when he got in front of her, as his eyes were lost on hers. Heather raised an eyebrow and pointed at her right while still looking at him. "Uhm…we should get out of here."

Quentin blinked twice and shook his head quickly then nodded. "Yeah, of course, that would be good."

Magnus sighed and covered his face, again. "Unbelievable."

"Come on, then!" Heather thought she had heard more guards coming, so she started to hurry towards the stairway she and Magnus had taken before.

Magnus and Quentin were following her rapid steps. "We might...go to the other side, don't you think?" Magnus opined, gasping as he was starting to get tired. Heather ignored him, then they got in front of the staircase. Magnus frowned after she stopped running. "What are you waiting for?"

Heather growled. "Patience, fatty." She glitched the stairs and the walls at their sides, forcing them to open inwards, like a door, making a way out, revealing the darkness of the midnight, she separated the stairs one from the other and arranged them to make an uneven path of stairs towards the ground out of the prison's fence. She jumped to the first stair, then started to jump down to the others successively.

Quentin looked at Magnus. "See? Patience, fatty."

Magnus grasped his neck strongly, choking him. "Say that again and I'll crush you like a cracker!"

Quentin coughed. "O…okay, l…let me go…s…sorry."

Magnus grunted and let go off his neck. "Much better." He jumped to the first stair then to the next one.

Quentin was recovering his breath, glancing at the floor, he then looked at the exit Heather had opened and adopted a straight posture, then he breathed in and out and gave small steps in his place. "You can do this, Quentin, just run and jump, is that easy." He then ran towards the exit and jumped, barely managing to rub the first stair's edge with his toes, he then started to fall.

Heather's ear twitched when she and Magnus had almost reached the end of the perilous stairway, she turned and gasped, reacting quickly when seeing Quentin falling, glitching the first three stairs to make a flat surface with them, she then placed it below Quentin, making him to fall there, safe and sound, then she moved the surface along with Quentin and put it next to the last stair at the other side, then she and Magnus jumped the remaining stairs and reached the ground, having successfully gotten out of the prison, as the fence was now behind them. Quentin stood up and looked at the glitched surface below him then looked at Heather gratefully. "You saved me!" He got down the object and approached them.

"Your welcome." Heather said coldly and glanced at her surroundings, the prison was in the middle of the city, so it didn't take her too long to find an escape vehicle, a white van that was parked next to an old, yet modern building, she rushed there followed by the other two, and glitched the doors to open them, she then got on the driver seat and with a small glitch she turned on the car. Quentin sat on the copilot seat and Magnus on one of the backseats. Heather pushed the pedal to the limit and left the area in a split of second.

When being sure they were not being followed, Heather slowed down a little bit. Quentin then yelled all of a sudden. "I knew this plan would work!"

Heather and Magnus screamed, having been scared by Quentin's unexpected comment. "Man, don't do that!" Magnus complained, having put his hand on his chest to check his own heartbeats.

Quentin chuckled, embarrassed. "Sorry." He took a deep breath and looked at the front, glaring at the unending street and continuous buildings. "And…what do you think? You know, about the gift?"

Heather stood silent for a moment, then she nodded, with a straight face. "Not bad." A small smirk formed on her face after so. "Not bad at all." She added while rubbing her new earring.

Quentin nodded. "Good." He had his eyes locked on her, he couldn't believe what he was living, teaming up with Heather Stanton. He glanced at the front again, recognizing the place they were passing through. "Turn right on the next traffic light."

"Why for?" Heather asked.

"We are going to The Eye's base." Quentin replied.

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Why would we do that?" She looked at him briefly, confused and rather upset. "We have just escaped."

"Oh we barely made it out of the prison and now you want to go with the military?! You are insane!" Magnus exclaimed.

Quentin sighed. "If we want to take over Quantal, we must go there first."

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Quantal? Like, that new city?"

"Exactly." Quentin replied. "That's what all this plan is about." He glanced at her. "You like it?"

Heather remained silent for a brief moment, then she just spoke. "I do."

Quentin chuckled. "That's good!" He then looked at Magnus. "What about you?"

Magnus shook his head, then looked through the window. "Maybe." He answered. "But I still don't know why we have to go where The Eye."

"Oh, I should've mentioned it." Quentin said, then turned again to glare at the front. "We are getting you powers, my friend."

–

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of 'Loonatics United: Cataclysm'! I've decided to make the upcoming chapters shorter, they have been getting too long lately, so instead of uploading three long chapters per arc, I'm just uploading short chapters, just as when the fanfic began, I think is better that way, and with that I'll be able to update once a week! So I think is the correct decision, but you can PM me if you have other thoughts on that. Well, thank you very much for reading, next week, the second part of this macro-event! Stay tuned! God bless you all :D

Grant


	38. Episode 38: Cataclysm (part 2)

Loonatics: United

Episode 38: Cataclysm (part 2)

The team's jet was exiting the planet's orbit, Lexi was piloting in the cockpit while Duck and Rev were in the back part of the vehicle, sitting and holding their belts tightly, even when knowing their black spacesuits could take care of any incident at space.

"Get ready boys." Lexi said, her voice sounded rather electronic because of the helmet of her suit. "I think we are approaching the…" She gasped and braked abruptly, making Duck and Rev to move violently along with the vehicle's equipment.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Duck complained.

"I guess something must be wrong because otherwise she wouldn't have stopped moving, am I right Lexi?" Rev stated.

Lexi nodded slowly, her eyes were wide as she looked at the colossal ship through the window, an elliptical, black mothership, with rustic golden details all over its surface, and vertical ongoing windows at the sides. "You are right Rev." She responded. "This is so wrong."

Duck took off his seatbelt and stood up, same as Rev, they entered the cockpit and gasped at seeing the mothership. "Now this is something you don't see everyday."

"I double that." Rev commented.

Lexi took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "Okay, I'll prepare the defense syst…" After she could only press a couple of keys, the jet's lights and engines went off, and they started to get close to the mothership.

"Lexi, what did you do?" Duck said, quite scared and unsure.

Lexi grunted with desperation. "I did nothing, Duck!"

"Guys, I think we are being attracted by the ship." Rev said.

Lexi shook her head, then turned and glanced at Rev. "What can we do, Rev?" She knew he could help with more technical stuff.

"This thing has an unlock protocol in the program eighty four." Rev answered. "But I'm afraid it only works if the systems are online." He sighed worriedly. "There's nothing we can do now."

The mothership brought in the jet through a huge, mechanical door that opened right when the jet got closer to it. When the jet entered the ship completely, the gate closed, leaving the team in an unknown darkness.

A small group of soldiers were guarding the entrance to the base of The Eye from the inside, then all of a sudden the big, metallic door glitched from the middle to the sides, then it broke into three parts, which instantly moved forward violently and hit the guards, who let out brief screams of pain, the glitched pieces of door collided with a wall and fell down, then Heather entered the base, walking carelessly among the unconscious soldiers. She got her wrist close to her muzzle, as Quentin had given them communication watches. "I got in."

"Good, now look for a black, gooey substance, that is your only objective." Quentin said through the comm.

Heather raised an eyebrow while looking around. "This place is huge! How am I gonna…"

"I don't know, Heather, I only know it's here." Quentin replied. "Just…be creative."

Heather sighed. "I'll try." She deactivated the comm and aimed her hands to the floor, then two groups of soldiers cornered her, one in front of her and the other behind her. She looked back, then returned her gaze to the front. She lowered her head, then chuckled mockingly. "You are not gonna like this, guys." She clenched her fists. "But I'll do!" Heather raised her hands and the base started to glitch, every wall, every column started to turn into glitched, changing structures. Heather's glitch turned the floor where the soldiers were standing into rugged slides, so they slid down while trying to hold from the surface but they went all the way down until they hit the bottom, glitched areas that combined parts of the roof and parts of several quarters.

Heather was safe, standing in a pinnacle at the middle of the slides' starting points, she looked up and noticed a convenient amount of floating, glitched platforms that she could use to climb and explore. Heather jumped towards the first platform, she held with both hands from its edge before getting on it completely, a couple of lasers passed by her side, colliding with an upside down wall that was ahead, she turned and noticed three soldiers shooting at her from a flat area below, she looked upwards again and climbed the next platform.

Meanwhile, Hank, one of Quentin's ex-goons and former member of The Eye, was laying on the floor, against a mixture of wall and random furniture, he had received a strong hit on his head, so he just started to recover while rubbing his head, he got over his knees and glanced at his cell's broken door, he gasped at discovering he had somehow gotten out of there, he looked up and down and to the sides, dazzled by the weird structural damage around him, he stood up and began to run through the hallway, not wanting to waste time, in order to free his comrades.

Heather was struggling to get her feet on the last platform, as she was getting tired, with a final breath out she made a huge effort to lift herself with her arms and finally laid over the concrete platform for a brief moment to recover some air. After so, she stood up and climbed the gray, rocky surface that led to the next floor which had formed by the glitch, she reached it and didn't hesitate to run in search for what Quentin had told her to find.

Hank was only finding empty cells, he began to get frustrated, so he decided to be less stealthy and began to yell his friends' names. "Troy! Kyle! Nate!"

"Hank?!" The voice of the wolf was heard from ahead. "What's going on out there?" Troy asked.

"I have no idea!" Hank replied, then he stopped running when finding Troy standing behind the bars. "Alright." He pressed a green button that was next to the cell and freed him.

"Thanks." Troy said. "How did you escape, by the way?"

"Same answer." Hank responded. "Let's find the others."

Heather glitched the ground continuously to create obstacles for the soldiers that were confronting her, she kicked and punched some of them after taking impulse with the barriers and tiny hills she was building, she landed and tackled, glitched and jumped, neutralizing more and more soldiers, dodging their shots and hits. The last three soldiers were standing bravely in front of her, pointing at her with their weapons.

"Last warning!" A wolf said, loading his weapon.

"Oh, last warning." Heather chuckled. "Then I have no option but to surrender." She raised her arms and then lowered them forcefully towards the floor under the soldiers, which she glitched and decomposed outwards in order to make an aperture, the soldiers let out screams of fear as they fell by the hole she had opened. Shortly after that, their fatal screams echoed on several corners of the base, as they had fallen from a great height. Heather smiled. "Or not." She jumped the aperture and landed safely on the other side, then she kept moving.

Hank and Troy had freed the younger members of their team, Kyle and Nate, the four wolves ran desperately trying to find one of the exits they knew of the place, but now it was too different because of the circumstances. "There's gotta be a way out!" Hank said.

"What the heck happened here?" Nate asked.

"Stop asking me questions!" Hank had no more information than the others. "We sh…" He stopped running all of a sudden. "Wait…" He looked at himself, seeing his everyday, yellow, prisoner uniform, his comrades wore the same. He looked at them, with eyes of commitment. "We must get our suits back."

Heather was swinging from a glitched pipeline, trying to gain enough momentum to jump to the floor that was a few meters ahead, as there was a big rupture that divided the path, she leaned back and forth and in that moment she let go off the pipeline and landed safely on the other side, then walked towards the tall security door she had found, it was red and metallic, with ornamental, industrial patterns, at the side there was a recognition pad, right above the door was an hexagonal, red sign that had a black icon printed on it, which was a box with a pair of tools and guns on it. Heather spoke through her comm. "I think I've found the warehouse." She smirked while glancing at her finding.

"Excellent, glitch it up!" Quentin responded.

Heather chuckled. "I know my job, darling." She pointed her hand at the recognition pad then waved it rightwards, making the pad to malfunction. The door opened cleanly right after so. She entered the warehouse, she was amazed by the amount of equipment that was there, from electric guns to powerful cannons. "Where do this guys get the money to buy this?" She said to herself while walking between the tall racks, then she gasped when seeing a transparent, cubic cage at the bottom of the room, a moving, dark purple substance was moving inside of it.

Heather approached the box and looked at it for a second, distracted by the substance's weird nature, then she shook her head a bit to focus and took the cage, guarding it under her left arm, then she just got out of the room. The alarms should've sounded right when she took the box from the stand, but the great glitch had made huge damage to the base's security systems, thing that had also freed Hank and company from their special, strength-proof cells.

Heather ran hurriedly across the flattest surfaces she could encounter with. "Guys, I got it! I have the…weird stuff!" She said through her comm.

"Good job! Now get out of there! We'll wait for you on the bridges." Quentin responded.

Heather stopped and turned to the opposite way. "Bridges…" She said upset as she knew they faced the other side of the building.

Meanwhile, The Red Wolves, Hank, Troy, Nate and Kyle, who had put on their red armors and helmets, were outside of the building, looking for a vehicle in the base's hangar, which was totally outdoors. "This one looks nice, boss!" Nate stopped running next to a black truck, which had a turret attached to the backside.

Hank scratched his chin while looking at it briefly. "It shall do, yes." He then walked towards it, pushing Nate on his way and getting on the driver seat. "Good eye of yours, youngling." He turned the vehicle on. "Hop on, boys!" Hank commanded, who started to drive after his people got in the vehicle. Troy was the copilot, Nate was controlling the turret and Kyle was just sitting next to him at the back part of the truck. A pair of trucks of the same type got in front of them with no previous warning, Hank frowned and accelerated. "Shoot! Nate!" The trucks started to shoot big lasers at them, Hank managed to dodge them, and Nate was constantly firing at them, missing the first five times, but when he turned all the way to face the vehicles that were now behind them, he hit a truck's grill, destroying the motor and therefore making the vehicle to explode instantly, the remaining truck was safely away from it to avoid getting serious damage.

"One out! Sir!" Nate informed.

"You don't say?!" Hank exclaimed. "Go for the last one! Boy!"

"Yes, sir!" Nate aimed at the shooter, then he gazed at the driver, who was no other than General Hill.

Hank had noticed that with the help of the rearview. "Kill him, Nate!" He ordered. "Shoot now and end with that scum!"

Nate's finger was rubbing the trigger hesitantly, he wanted to obey Hank's words, but something was stopping him from shooting. He exhaled and clenched his fist then aimed the weapon at the gunner instead, he shot and destroyed the truck's turret, killing the wolf in the process.

"No!" Hank punched the dashboard, enraged, then he got his head out of the window and looked back, seeing Hill had stopped following them. He kept driving fast and broke the fence with the truck easily, getting out of the base's surroundings.

Heather ran through the glitched, random paths that suddenly brought her to a high drop, she stopped right on the edge, she was about three stories up, she glanced away from the far ground and looked at the bridges, which were illuminated by modern lampposts that emitted a blueish light, the cars never stopped passing behind the van that was parked there.

"I see you guys." Heather said through her comm. "I'm on my way." She thought for a moment in a way she could reach the bridge, which was very far from where she stood. An idea came to her mind, she aimed her hand at the concrete of the ground and the building then began to swirl her arm towards the edge of the bridge, a curved path started to form slowly, with some effort as she was carrying the box, she attached the end of the path to the bridge's edge, then she raised her hand to connect the path's starting point to the edge from where she was standing. She ran confidently on her newly made structure, transparent, gray and solid, a bit pointy and sharp in some areas.

She inhaled and exhaled continuously, as the path went upwards, the last few steps of her run were the most difficult, but with a jump she got on the pathway of the bridge and entered the vehicle, sitting next to Quentin, who was driving.

While driving away from the scene, Quentin waited a bit for Heather to recover her breath, then he spoke. "That was very impressive." He waited for a probable response of hers, which never came, so he looked at her briefly. "Heather?"

Heather was distracted with the substance's behavior, which was bouncing and sticking to the box's inside. She had still heard Quentin so she just blinked a couple of times and kept glancing at the gooey material. "What is this?"

Quentin chuckled. "That, pretty, is Mourn, fear and power, joined together, in order to cause chaos."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Wait…that's it?" He growled when looking at the substance with disappointment. "That's the 'immense power' you told me I was gonna get? That piece of trash?!"

"You underestimate it, my friend." Quentin responded. "You won't know it, until you merge with it." He smirked and kept driving between the endless vehicles of the night.


	39. Episode 39: Cataclysm (part 3)

Loonatics: United

Episode 39: Cataclysm (part 3)

Rev was standing over one of the jet's seats, looking through the narrow, long window. "I can't see anything guys maybe is safe to come out."

"Or… maybe those aliens are hiding and waiting for us, ready to exterminate." Duck argued, he was laying on the floor, resting his head against a wall, with his hands behind his neck.

Lexi was next to Rev, using her hearing ability, but the silence was very present. She rested her ear on the wall to see if that could give her more reach, but she heard no sound. She sighed and grunted a bit, shaking her head with disappointment. "I got nothing."

Duck yawned. "You guys can worry all you want, I'm taking a nap, wake me up when you solve this."

Lexi frowned at him. "At least you could teleport outside to see what's out there!"

"Oh, you are so wrong if you think I'll leave, I'm safe, warm and comfortable here in th…" Duck's eyes widened when the lights of the place suddenly activated and went through the jet's windows, followed by sounds of hostile steps.

Rev rubbed his eyes and then looked back at the window, hopping down to the floor. "I see something!"

Duck stood up and approached them. "Yeah, we all noticed the light show, smart guy."

Lexi went to the cockpit and gasped at seeing the golden armored reptiles that looked at her menacingly from the outside. The now dim, but bright enough green light that illuminated the dark colored place revealed it was some kind of space hangar. She immediately turned back and adopted a combat position in front of her friends. "We have company, boys."

"Company?" Duck asked, readying two orbs. "What kind of company?" He tried to hide his fear with a brave face.

"Reptiles." Lexi replied.

"Oh that reminds me of those green guys that we fought a while, while ago." Rev said. "Remember, Lexi?"

"It'll sound weird, Rev." Lexi replied. "But I think these are their relatives."

"Oh come on, that's impossible!" Rev gasped along with the others when the jet's side door slid forcefully upwards, letting a group of three reptiles to enter, with a bigger group behind them, almost like waiting in line for their turn to battle. Rev noticed their golden armors, exactly the same Ziox's reptiles wore time ago, he gulped when hearing their growls, which also sounded the same. "Correction, is entirely possible."

"This will be so easy, then!" Duck juggled his orbs.

The reptiles didn't wait more to fight, they approached the Loonatics with their spears raised, Lexi blocked a hit with both hands, putting them together, covering the golden, metallic weapon, she then grasped it strongly and moved it rightwards, making the reptile to growl and hit the wall over the seats, then she punched him on the snout.

Rev dodged the reptile's attacks easily, mocking him repeatedly, cornering the armored creature. "You missed!" His red blur blinded the reptile's vision. "You missed again what a surprise!" He swung his arm at the reptile and hit his side, sending him to a near wall, but quite strongly as he had used his super speed for the attack, the reptile was now unconscious.

Duck had just dealt with the third reptile, whose armor was steamy by the orbs' heat. He chuckled and prepared another pair of orbs, looking at the reptiles that entered the jet. "Next horde?" He backed his arm then threw an orb at the reptile who led that group, hitting his face, he growled and by the pain and blindness provoked by the orb he began to throw bites and punches, hurting some of the reptiles behind him. A small brawl started between them.

Duck raised an eyebrow. "Well…easier for me, then." He threw the other orb at them, managing to bring them down briefly, they tried to get up but Rev hit a bunch of them with his super speed while Lexi neutralized them with effective and fast kicks.

The three Loonatics waited a bit to confirm the victory, they couldn't hear anything that could indicate there were more reptiles coming, so they lowered their guard. "I think we are safe." Lexi turned to look at her friends. "At least for now."

"Thanks to me." Duck pointed at himself.

Lexi sighed and started to walk to the jet's exit. "Whatever, Duck."

Each one of them carefully took a step on the black and metallic floor, then they got out of the jet completely. The green lights on the ceiling gave the hangar a strange atmosphere, their eyes contemplated that for a moment. "No more reptiles here I've checked twice." Rev suddenly said, with a fading red blur behind him.

"Then…mission accomplished?" Duck inquired.

Lexi ignored Duck's words, she looked around her and spotted an exit that led to a hallway. "Let's keep moving." She began to head there, followed by them.

They now walked through the dark hallway, which was also dimly illuminated by large, horizontal green lights. "I thought we would never see those things again." Duck opined. "So weird they've just come back."

"I think it may be no coincidence because we killed their lion-monster back in the day so this could be some sort of revenge." Rev stated.

"Or worse." Lexi said. "Maybe they've come to finish the job."

Duck rolled his eyes. "Maybe this, maybe that, what I'm sure about is that we must find a way to stop this thing from reaching the city, so, any idea?"

"I suggest to destroy it, now that we know these are confirmed bad guys." Rev answered.

Lexi stopped walking and turned to face them. "That sounds good to me, do you have anything in mind?" She asked Rev.

"I can't figure out what kind of systems and materials this ship has I mean that's impossible." Rev said. "I'll need some blueprints to know exactly how to destroy it."

"And how do you want us to get that?" Duck looked at him, speaking with a pessimistic tone.

"I might know how." Lexi responded.

Meanwhile at Acmetropolis, Ace was standing in front of the lounge's window, watching the night fading and the stars disappearing. He thought he had overcome the emotional issues he had experienced time ago, but he was having those feelings again, in a smaller degree, but still. The kitchen's door opened, Tech exited from it, taking a sip from a cup of coffee, his third one that night. He approached Ace and started to glance at the same scene. "You should have some sleep, boss." Tech advised. "Don't get me wrong, but you look quite tired."

Ace sighed, keeping his face straight. "I am, Doc." He looked at him. "But that's part of the job."

Tech nodded. "I know." He took another sip of his coffee. "But at least you could rest a couple of hours, you need it."

"I've tried, Doc." Ace responded. "I just can't." He shook his head. "Not this night."

"I get you." Tech said. "Do you want some coffee?" Ace stood quiet, then just nodded, with his gaze away from his comrade, looking at the horizon instead. "Okay." Tech walked away from him then entered the kitchen.

Ace sighed and headed to one of the couches at the lounge. He sat down and yawned, then began to breath in and out. He rested his head on the couch's support and closed his eyes, trying hard to get a little nap. After a pair of minutes, he managed to rest a bit, still conscious as the worries couldn't escape his mind, then the beeping noise of his comm took him out from the moment instantly. He blinked several times before responding. "Ace." He said through the comm.

"Hey, it's Matt." Matt said from the other side. "We got a situation."

"What kind of situation?" Ace inquired.

Matt sighed. "There has been a breakout from Acmetropolis' prison, three high profile interns escaped."

Ace stood up. "I need you to be more specific, Matt, we are attending something important right n..."

"Magnus, Quentin, Heather." Matt replied, rather frustrated. "They got out, and not only that." He sighed worriedly. "They have Mourn too, they stole it from The Eye."

Ace eye's widened. "What?!" He exhaled with desperation. "Okay, where are they now?"

"On the Great Pathway, they've just passed by the Razor Dome." Matt answered. "We are chasing them on the chopper, but we need your help."

"This can't be happening." Ace thought. "Okay, Matt, we are on our way."

"Alright." Matt ended the communication.

Ace turned to face the kitchen and call Tech, but his friend exited from there before he could do so. "Doc, wake him up, we must go." He commanded, referring to Slam.

"Where to, boss?" Tech approached him and handed him a cup of coffee.

Ace drank all of the coffee with a single, long sip. "A new mission."

The three Loonatics flew over the city's innumerable skyscrapers with their jetpacks. "It was hard enough to put a single one of them behind bars." Tech opined. "How could this possibly happen in the first place?"

"I don't know, Tech." Ace said. "We'll find out when we catch them." He clenched his fists strongly, with a frown of commitment, gazing at the early light of the morning arriving from the horizon.

Slam growled when spotting a part of the Great Pathway, which went through practically all the city.

"I see it, Slam." Ace said then began to fly towards there followed by the others. They got right over the pathway and kept flying, following the path's direction, hovering over the multitude of cars that passed below their feet. Ace activated his comm. "We are here Matt, where are you?"

"Over the tunnel, Ace." Matt replied. "They got inside, but our chopper is too big to fit in there."

"Leave them to us, then." Ace said. There was only one, long tunnel that the pathway had, it was not too far from where they were so Ace just kept flying forward, same as his team.

After about a minute, they approached the tunnel and entered through the arched entrance. They were more careful with their height as now they were much closer to the cars, and the inside of the tunnel was not very illuminated, there were just white, rectangular lamps going like a pattern at the sides of the ceiling. "We are in the tunnel, Matt." Ace informed. "Tell us what are we looking for."

"A white, old van." Matt responded.

"Understood." Ace said, then began to glance carefully at every spot and car in the tunnel, seeking for the vehicle. "See something, Doc?"

"Negative, boss." Tech said. "There are too mu…" He gasped and lowered himself with the jetpack, barely avoiding a piece of glitched car that had been thrown at him. He returned to his previous height and saw Heather over the van's roof a few rows of cars ahead, on one knee and with her hands aiming at the sides.

"It seems they found us first." Ace stated and headed towards the vehicle, followed by Slam.

"Wait!" Tech approached Ace, getting next to him again. "There are too many people here!"

"We can't lose these guys!" Ace argued and readied his laser vision, he shot at Heather but she protected herself with a glitched shield she made up, the laser bounced there and hit a car behind Ace, which exploded and made other vehicles to explode too, the event caused several accidents and crashes behind them. Ace didn't even turn to look at the damages, he kept flying towards Heather, frowning constantly. "Slam, your target is the vehicle, Tech and I will handle her!"

Slam growled affirmatively and headed to the van. Heather threw several glitched materials towards him but he managed to dodge them with turns and evasive maneuvers. He finally got at the side of the vehicle, but before he could throw a punch at it, Heather glitched his jetpack and it began to malfunction, it took him to a wall after a uneven path accompanied by sparks. Slam collided with the wall, the hit the jetpack received between the wall and Slam's back finally made it to stop working completely, Slam just fell to the ground, getting up after a few seconds, the upcoming cars avoided him so he just got near the wall to prevent more accidents.

Ace growled after seeing Slam's defeat, then he looked at Tech. "Now it's on us, Doc."

Tech glanced back recurrently, seeing the accident's victims. "They're hurt." He looked at Ace with a straight face. "We gotta help them!"

"There's no time for that! Tech!" Ace argued.

"We are risking too many lives! We can't d…" Tech got interrupted.

"They can't escape, Doc! If you don't want to help th…" Ace gasped when feeling his jetpack's sudden deactivation. The jetpack smashed him violently onto the ceiling, Ace groaned by the strong hit and then the damaged artifact sent him to the ground with the same strength, then smoke came from the jetpack.

Tech was having the same trouble, his maneuvers to stabilize himself were useless as the jetpack made him to collide with a column, his snout got hurt and then the jetpack went off, then he fell to the ground.

Ace stood up effortfully while rubbing his arm, then turned and saw the great amount of destroyed cars, people were exiting from them, hurt and others just very frightened. Ace walked a few steps towards the scene, he began to get feelings of guilt as he heard the people's cries, seeing the ground covered with scraps, some people laid on the concrete, extremely hurt. Suddenly, he received a transmission in his comm. "Yes, Matt." He said. "We lost them."

"I know." Matt replied. "Sorry, it sounded rude, I meant…"

Ace sighed. "I understand, any updates?"

"Yes, we managed to shoot a tracker at the van right when they exited the tunnel." Matt answered.

"Good." Ace was rather distracted with the scene of tragedy he was still contemplating. "What's next, then?"

"The computer is at the base, we need it to know where are they heading to." Matt responded. "We'll keep you in t…"

"Matt." Ace interrupted. "Could you pick us up outside the tunnel? She ruined our jetpacks…again."

"Sure, we'll wait for you over the exit." Matt ended the conversation.

Ace nodded and lowered his arm, then kept looking at the destruction he had provoked. Tech and Slam approached him from behind. "Boss." Tech said.

Ace turned and faced Tech, lowering his head and putting his hand over his shoulder. He sighed and shook his head slightly. "I know." He looked at him. "I know, Doc."

Tech kept a straight face, still rather disconcerted with his boss' actions, but compassionate at the same time. "Boss, may I go aid them?"

Ace delayed a bit to answer, then nodded mildly. "Please." He looked back at the scene. "We all should, actually." He resumed his steps towards the accident, followed by his comrades.


	40. Episode 40: Cataclysm (part 4)

Loonatics: United

Episode 40: Cataclysm, part 4

The morning had arrived, Hank and his comrades were hiding in a alleyway, standing next to the truck they had stolen. "No matter how we got out of there, guys." Hank said. "Now we are free to do whatever we want!"

"Super strength, military type vehicle, cool armors…" Nate counted with his fingers, trying to make a statement. "Yeah, no restraints at all."

Hank smirked. "Exactly."

Troy sighed. "So? I mean, I'm sure they're already looking for us, we should escape to another planet in our situation, but hey, we got no money to do so."

Hank chuckled a bit. "Troy, your lack of vision is certainly embarrassing." He turned to his side to contemplate the skyscrapers, finding the tower where German Gillian's office, also his apartment, was. He smiled and pointed at the tower then glared at them. "That's our goal now! We stay here and make it ours! Totally ours!"

Kyle and Nate made gestures of approval and welcomed Hank's idea, but Troy was still doubtful. "It's not that easy, Hank." He opined. "You can't take over a entire city just with invading an office."

"I say it can work." Kyle stated.

Hank nodded and glanced at Troy. "See? This boy has vision!"

Troy grunted, he had to accept the fact they were no turning back on that. "Alright." He looked at Hank with a straight face. "But let me handle the people."

Hank raised an eyebrow. "The people?"

Troy nodded. "They won't be happy with the change of regime." He cracked his fingers. "So good I'm particularly skilled dealing with the uncooperative." He kept explaining his plans. "In simple words, pay and shut up, or get killed, that's my approach."

Hank let out a chuckle of approval. "What a good idea."

"We can help with that." Nate said, looking at Kyle, who nodded at him then glanced back at Hank.

"It's decided, then." Hank started to head towards the vehicle, grinning with ambition. "Let's take over this miserable city."

Inside the glitched, messed up base of The Eye, General Hill was sitting over a storage box, looking at the floor, thinking about the events. A soldier approached him to communicate him something. "Sir, Mourn has been stolen. We identified the thieves, Magnus Maxfield, Heather Stanton and Quentin Quintana, the three of them are fugitives from Acmetropolis' prison."

Hill sighed. "What a mess." He stood up and looked at the front. "Leave them to the Loonatics, the renegades are top priority now." He chuckled silently. "Those fools took the suits." He turned to look at the soldier. "It happens I installed a tracker on them."

Lexi, Duck and Rev were exploring the ship's long corridors, in search for a reptile. Lexi sighed as she began to get impatient. "Great, they don't show up right when we need them."

"Maybe those were all." Duck said. "It's possible."

"It's not, the ship is way to big to only have that crew." Rev said.

"Maybe they just want to be showy." Duck opined.

"Guys." Lexi murmured. "I think I hear something."

Duck rolled up his eyes. "What a surprise."

"Shut up, Duck." Lexi ordered, then her ears twitched. "They're coming, plenty of them."

A big group of reptiles arrived at the hallway from the right side of the bottom, they pointed their spears at them and ran towards the three heroes, growling menacingly.

"Here we go again!" Rev said and rushed towards them, hitting several reptiles in a row, Duck teleported near to the ceiling and held from a handle shaped part of it, and while hanging, he shot orbs continuously at them, not even choosing his targets, the reptiles groaned with pain as the heat of the orbs burned their scales, demonstrating their armors weren't that effective.

"Take your breakfast! Space lizards!" Duck exclaimed mockingly while attacking them.

Lexi was cornered by five reptiles who approached her more each second, with the spears dangerously close to her. She smirked confidently. "Sometimes this is just too easy." She jumped, using the spears as surfaces to do so and with that stepped on each reptile's head strongly, disorienting them. Lexi landed behind the circle of reptiles, then she started to shoot her brain blast at them, burning them rapidly. After growls and screams of pain, the creatures fell down, steamy and defeated.

Rev jumped with fast impulses to take down his enemies with his fist aiming at their snouts, he started to get tired and finally decided to run between the reptiles and hit their jaws as he ran, evading the spears' attacks. He stopped running almost at the opposite side of the hallway, seeing the reptiles laying on the ground. He cleaned his fist on his suit and nodded at his victory. "One more for Rev Runner no one is actually counting but I had to say it." He inhaled and exhaled rapidly. "Yeah, even if no one heard me."

Duck teleported continuously to the heads of the reptiles that were left, burning their heads with two orbs he retained on his hands. "And it didn't get old!" He went from head to head until there was only one reptile left, approaching Lexi with hesitation and a bit of fear. Duck just kept his sight on the reptile. "It's all yours, girl."

"What if he doesn't want to speak?" Rev inquired, already at the side of his two teammates.

"Oh." Lexi charged her brain blast. "He will, believe me." She began to walk cautiously towards the reptile, who let out a growl of battle and approached her rapidly, Lexi disarmed him in a blink with a flying kick, sending the spear far from him, she then punched his face and tackled him, then began to stand up slowly while holding his neck with her arm. The reptile coughed and moved aggressively, Lexi then freed him briefly and grasped his neck with one hand, she lifted him and put him against a wall. "The blueprints, snake!" She burned his shoulder with her brain blast, making him to scream by the pain. "Speak!"

The reptile groaned and looked at her with hate. "You'll get nothing from me, inferior being." His voice was strangely deep.

Lexi smirked. "You don't know me." She burned his shoulder again, this time she had increased the heat of her power, the reptile screamed stronger than the first time. "I can be very insistent."

"You..." The reptile tried to undo her grasp with desperation, but he was weak by the wound on his shoulder. "Let me go…" He said with a voice that was starting to break.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't have what I want." Lexi said, then started to recharge her brain blast. "My hands are tied." She burned the same spot again, the reptile's scream echoed in all the place, then he started to gasp.

The reptile groaned, he had his eyes almost closed, he couldn't stand the pain anymore. "You miserable creature…" He wanted to retain the answer to her demands, but Lexi's brain blast had made permanent damage to his scales, and he didn't want to suffer more. "Left, right, right…" He groaned again. "Red door…" The reptile fainted, then Lexi dropped him on the floor.

Lexi looked at the hurt reptile for a moment, then she turned and began to walk forward. "Move." She said, her face was straight and her steps cold, Rev and Duck followed her, quiet and with no intentions to talk about anything at the moment.

Quentin and his gang arrived at the desert zone of Acmetropolis in the van.

"I thought you had said the Loonatics weren't going to be a problem." Magnus said.

"I miscalculated." Quentin replied. "But we still have advantage." He parked the van a few miles away from the city of Quantal. "Behold…" Quentin got out of the van followed by Heather and Magnus. "…The great city of Quantal!" He raised his arms and contemplated the city, Magnus and Heather got at his sides, admiring the scene with astonishment.

Heather was still holding the box that caged Mourn, her eyes were amazed by the white of the city. "I must admit I didn't expect this."

Magnus nodded, also glancing at Quantal. "And it's all ours."

Quentin smirked. "Well, it will be, my friend." He approached Heather and took the box from her hands, then lowered it on the sand. "When you take this!" He punched the box, which broke easily as it was made of thin glass. Mourn grew a bit and started to shake and swallow the broken glass around it.

"Uhm, is it safe?" Magnus asked, pointing at the moving, black substance.

"I won't lie, my friend." Quentin said. "There's only one way to know."

Magnus scratched his nape. "Well…" He glanced away. "I'm not sure."

Quentin started to frown. "Take it."

Magnus looked at him, quite upset. "If it's that good then why don't you take it?"

Quentin sighed. "Magnus, just close your eyes, place your hands there, and this will be over." He gave him a look of authority.

Magnus was uncertain of the nature of Mourn, but he started to consider Quentin's words and insistence. He grunted, maintaining his frown of doubt, he started to crouch towards Mourn, with his hand above it, slightly backing it away at times, but still reaching the substance. There was fear on his eyes, but at the same time, they reflected a hidden desire to gain that power. He finally touched the substance, and its gooey surface immediately trapped his whole arm, making Magnus to gasp. Mourn started to glow purple, that hurt him and he screamed by the intense pain he felt, as the black, glowing goo covered him, it glowed more and he screamed more intensely. "Help!" He yelled before Mourn covered his face completely. He knelt down and put his hands over the sand.

Quentin raised an eyebrow and took a small step forward. "Magnus?" Heather shared that same look and intrigue.

Magnus opened his eyes, which were now completely white, and he was now like a shadow, he chuckled with a deep voice and stood up, then turned and looked at them both, then he looked at himself and began to float before them. He growled and formed two purple energy spheres on his hands, then he smirked. "That city…is ours."

Quentin was rather scared with Magnus' new form, same as Heather. He just nodded at his statement. "Uhm…how do you feel, then?"

Magnus let out a monstrous growl, then chuckled again, with a confident grin. "Powerful."

Quentin smiled. "That's good." He turned to face the city, then he pointed at it. "Alright, then. We have a city to invade."

Tech, Ace and Slam were in A.R.M.'s HQ, Tech was in a improvised workshop, the room was small and had a few racks and boxes with tools and several devices, it was illuminated by a hanging light bulb. Tech was fixing the jetpacks at a metallic table, he stood before it while cleaning the parts and soldering stuff. Praise was sitting on the floor, with her back against the wall, at Tech's right. She wore a black bodysuit with red lines, similar as Anne's. "Tough day?" Praise inquired.

Tech chuckled. "You have no idea."

Praise sighed. "It must be awesome to be you, I mean, you fight with bad guys, deal with perils and stuff, use cool gadgets." She shook her head. "They won't let me do any of that stuff here." Praise glanced down. "I want to fight."

Tech looked at her, briefly stopping what he was doing. "Praise, believe me." He put a serious face. "You don't want that."

"Of course I do." Praise argued. "I want to do more than designing plans and mapping things." She stood up. "I want to…feel important, you know." She rubbed her arm and lowered her head.

Tech sighed and put his tools over the table then he approached her and placed a hand over her shoulder. "You are important, Praise, for them, and for me." He smirked at her. "For us."

Praise's gaze was still on the floor. "Why? Why can't I go on missions like you, uncle?" She looked at him. "I don't understand."

Tech was thoughtful, then he just spoke out his mind. "You are not ready."

Praise raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that? I'm not that young."

Tech shook his head, then sighed. "It's not about age, it's about…moving on."

"What do you mean?" Praise inquired.

"You still think about her, don't you?" Tech asked, with care on his eyes.

That question took Praise off guard, she remained speechless until a tear escaped from her eye. "I…" She breathed in. "Every night, I see her." She lowered her gaze. "I become her again, in my dreams."

Tech nodded compassionately. "And when you wake up, does it all end there?"

Praise sobbed. "No, I…I feel afraid, lost." She looked at him again. "Worried."

"Praise." Tech hugged her. "You have to overcome this, if not, you'll never be able to go."

"Why?" Praise embraced him too.

Tech sighed. "Decisions." He explained. "Those are crucial, in any mission." He broke the hug. "Beat these feelings first, and then you'll have what's necessary to be a formidable agent, okay? Would you do that for me?" He smirked.

Praise let out a sigh of calmness, then she thought about what Tech had told her, knowing he was right in his words. She nodded slightly. "Okay."

Tech smiled. "Good." He turned to keep working on the jetpacks.

At the HQ's main office, Ace was speaking with Matt, who was sitting on his chair, while Ace was just resting against a nearby wall. "I must congratulate you, Matt." Ace said. "You four have done a extraordinary job with this agency."

"Well, it's been a tough task." Matt replied. "But still, I think we took the right choice."

Ace chuckled. "Leaving The Eye?"

Matt nodded. "I always thought Hill's methods were too drastic." He explained. "It's just not my style."

Ace lowered his gaze a little bit. "Neither mine." He sighed and crossed his arms, now gazing at the lights on the ceiling. "Well, I don't know."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?" He inquired.

Ace let out a sigh of guilt. "Today I didn't care, Matt." He looked at him. "I didn't care for them, for the people. I acted for myself."

"Ace, these things happen, it's part of the job." Matt tried to reassure him.

Ace shook his head. "I could've been more careful, I knew the consequences." He glanced away. "I hurt people, but all I wanted was to beat them, to win." He started to clench his fists strongly. "All we have done in the past, it has been in vain."

"That's not true." Matt said. "You saved thousands of lives." He stood up. "We saved people."

"Of course we did." Ace grunted. "But now they are at risk again, and why?" He said. "Because this city is evil, it wont matter what we do now or in the future. Bad things will keep happening."

Matt sighed. "I get you, man, I truly do, but that's exactly why we are here, to protect the weak from that evil, from any kind of evil, even if it returns over and over again, like it did now, we must be there for them."

"And I know that, Matt." Ace glared at him with a straight face. "What I don't know, is for how long am I going to stand it." He lowered his head. "Until I become like them."

"That will never happen." Matt approached him. "Not to you, you have heart, Ace, leadership." He extended his hand. "Values, no one can take that away from you."

Ace got thoughtful for a moment, then he looked at Matt. "I hope so." He shook his hand. "I really hope so."

"That's the truth." Matt concluded.

In a small entertainment room, where an old, unplugged CRT Television was over a wooden table, and at the sides a couple of opened drawers revealed cartridges with several types of movies, Slam, Anne and Peyton sat on a red couch that faced the TV, speaking about the mission. "I told you I could handle it, that's why you hired me in the first place." Peyton told Anne, rather upset with her.

Anne sighed. "That tunnel was too low, Peyton, not only the drivers would've been at serious risk, but also the three of us." She crossed her arms and glanced away from her, then shook her head and let out a sigh. "You should trust in our decisions."

Peyton grunted. "And you should trust me!" She exclaimed, Slam tried to calm her down by putting a hand on her shoulder, hesitantly, but it had almost no effect on her. "Then why am I here?!"

Anne growled and stoop up abruptly, then began to walk away from them. "I'm not in the mood for this." She finally left the room and slammed the door.

Peyton gasped after the brief fight then she snarled and put her face on her hands, saying no word at all. Slam growled reassuringly and began to stroke her back, then he emitted a pair of snarls, telling her to calm down, saying it really was a low tunnel.

Peyton sighed. "You too?" She raised her head and looked at him. "I've been working here for a while now, and they still don't trust me, Slam." She shook her head. "No one does."

Slam grunted, telling her he trusted her.

"It's not the same." Peyton replied. "But thanks, anyway."

Slam looked at her, as her gaze was again lost on the floor, he then gave her a strong hug, not being able to control his strength.

Peyton coughed. Okay…thanks…" She took a deep breath, but she was still choking. "That helps…b…but is enough."

Slam gasped when noticing he hugged her too tightly, so he undid the hug and snarled several times, saying he was very sorry.

Peyton breathed in and out repeatedly with her eyes a bit widened. She began to regain her breath and then she closed her eyes and sighed. "It's okay." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Thanks, that...helped a bit." She kept looking at his eyes, making him to blush, then she got closer to him and kissed his cheek, then he growled with hesitation, but he finally did the same, kissing her on the cheek. They both glanced away from the other, blushed and full of questions, but also full of joy.


	41. Episode 41: Cataclysm (part 5)

Loonatics: United

Episode 41: Cataclysm (part 5)

Hank parked the truck in front of the tower where German's apartment was, he exited the vehicle along with Troy. Nate and Kyle hopped down from the back part. Hank looked at the building for a moment in silence, then Nate interrupted his thoughts. "At your command, boss."

Hank turned a bit to see him, then rapidly glared back at the tower. "Let's do this."

German was sitting at his desktop, checking some files on his computer while speaking with someone in a voice chat. "How bad is it?" German inquired.

"The cracks are expanding." A female voice said from the other side of the line. "We still don't know what's causing them."

German covered his face with a hand. "Have they reached the population?"

"Not yet, but they will, eventually." The woman said. "Our equipment is not at the level of this situation, I'm afraid." A sigh was heard from the computer's speaker. "Sorry, Mr. President, we can't do anything about it."

"It's okay, Deborah, thank you for the info." German pressed a key on the keyboard and ended the call, the contact name was 'Acmetropolis Geological Institute'. He closed the chat software and stood up from the chair, turning and looking through the room's large window, preoccupied and upset. Suddenly, his ear twitched when hearing steps behind the office's door, he turned and walked a few steps towards it but then stopped. "Hello?" He took a small step backwards. "Is an…" The door broke all of a sudden, flying towards him. It hit him with strength, he gasped and fell to the ground, with the broken door over him.

Hank entered first, he had kicked the door. Troy and Nate entered afterwards and Kyle was the last one to get in the office. "Sorry for the rude entrance, Mr. President." Hank approached German and grabbed the door, throwing it away from him, it smashed the wall at their right and turned into a dozen of splinters. He grasped German's blue coat and lifted him, then he smirked. "Guess who are the rulers now?"

German was very scared and unable to speak by the fear he felt. "It seems he saves his voice just for the speeches." Troy approached him and punched his stomach several times, making him to groan and let out tears of pain while Hank still held him.

Hank chuckled and threw him onto a wall, German groaned after hitting the floor. "If they only knew how weak you are!" He kicked his belly, making him to scream with agony. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"Boss!" Kyle opened an empty closet that was at the other side of the room. "We should lock him up here!"

Hank smiled and dragged German from the neck of his coat towards the closet, he threw him there with violence. "I'll make sure you stay shut." He kicked his jaw, hurting him so much he got him unconscious. "Close the door, Kyle." He commanded.

Kyle obeyed him and closed the closet's door. A key was attached to the door lock, so he just twisted it and locked the door with that, then he clenched his fist and made the key to become metallic dust.

"Alright." Hank walked towards the desktop and slipped all of the documents and folders that were there. He sat down on the chair and turned to look at the city through the window, he placed both hands behind his neck, adopting a relaxed position. "Nate, Kyle, put barricades all around the building. Troy, start with the taxes. If they resist, just kill them, as you said."

Hank stood in the office, while Troy, Nate and Kyle exited the edifice to follow his orders. Troy headed to a residence he spotted a few streets away from the tower, he stopped hurrying in front of the small, red themed house, breaking the door with a kick and entering right after so, triggering screams of terror. He encountered with a marriage of bunnies, both white furred, who had been sitting over a black couch in their living room, but they were now standing up, extremely afraid, embracing each other.

"Who are you?!" The woman said, trembling, she wore a yellow dress with pink flowers and had long, black hair.

"Your new order!" Troy approached them. "Pay! I need two hundred! Now!"

The husband protected his wife with an embrace. "Please…don't hurt us." He wore a blue shirt and a pair of gray pants.

Troy grunted. "Then pay!"

The man did his best to hide his fear and put a straight face. "This is a good neighborhood, you can't ask us for money just because you want so! Leave!"

Troy frowned and chuckled at the same time. "Oh, a brave one?" He backed his arm and punched him on the snout, killing him instantly by his super strength.

The wife looked horrified at her dead husband, then she glared at Troy with pleading, teary eyes. "Please…" Her voice was broken.

"No money…" Troy approached her and kneeled her stomach, making her to scream fatally and fall to the floor, lifeless. "…no mercy."

Meanwhile, Nate and Kyle were building the barricades with several stuff, generally with big trash containers and cars, which they easily lifted. Nate lowered down a car in front of the trash can he had put right in front of the building's facade, over the sidewalk. He exhaled and then looked around to see the progress of their task. "Kyle! Do you think this will be enough?!" The perimeter was well covered, but Nate thought there were too many vulnerable spots.

Kyle gasped after lowering a big, rusty trash container next to the tower. He sighed and then glanced at Kyle. "I say it's okay, don't you think?"

Nate scratched his chin, studying the barricades again. "I'm not sure, I gu…" His eyes widened and his ears twitched when seeing and hearing The Eye's trucks. Hill was leading the big group of vehicles that parked in front of the building horizontally.

Hill, who parked his truck right in the middle of the rest, exited the vehicle while holding a megaphone. "This is the first and last warning for you, traitors!" He exclaimed through the device. "Surrender now or we'll be forced to attack!"

Nate was hiding against the left wall of the stairs that led to the tower's entrance. He turned on his comm. "Boss, we got a…situation."

Hank was looking at the displays of the security cameras in German's computer. "I see it." He replied. "Get them out of my sight."

"Boss, they are too many." Nate said while gazing carefully at the amount of trucks and soldiers that hopped out of them.

"We can deal with this." Troy arrived, running towards the first truck he found on his way, he punched it with a scream of rage and sent it towards the next one, turning over the two vehicles. The men in the turrets had jumped from them just in time and the two wolves rushed towards Troy with their charged weapons, Troy just smashed the ground with his fists and the concrete broke in the form of a cracked wave that reached the soldiers and hit them so hard they fell to the ground severely injured.

"Good job, Troy!" Hank said through his comm. "Nate, Kyle, don't just stay there looking, fight them!"

Nate gulped. "As you wish, boss." He ended the communication and headed to the battle, followed by Kyle who had also been hiding. Nate approached a group of soldiers that constantly shot at him, but the lasers just vanished in his red armor like drops in the water, he rapidly gained confidence and with a flying kick he managed to hit their faces in a row, the soldiers took the hit well and two of them tackled him and tried to hold him, the rest of the soldiers surrounded them in case he managed to free himself, but Kyle, in order to help him, threw a truck towards them and hit them like a golf ball, the group of soldiers fell unconscious to the hard concrete, with the destroyed vehicle at their side.

Nate raised his back, checking if he was still in one piece as Kyle's attack was too precise, then he got into his feet and turned to see Kyle. "Thanks!" He gave him a quick thumbs up.

Kyle returned the gesture, then he kept lifting and throwing vehicles. "More armed men at your right!" He warned, so Nate turned and evaded the shots that went towards him, even if his suit was resistant to them, he started battling each one of the soldiers by disarming them first with a quick hand movement.

Meanwhile, Troy was fighting hand to hand with General Hill. "Of them all you were the strongest!" Hill stopped Troy's upcoming fist with his hand, then moved it away, hitting his shin with his foot. "But you betrayed your principles!"

Troy groaned by Hank's attack. "You are wrong, General…" He attacked Hill's chest with his elbow. "…I've never had principles."

Kyle screamed by the effort when lifting another truck, shaking it until all the men inside the damaged vehicle fell from it. He then raised it more and crashed it over them. "You like that?!" He chuckled. "I can't hear you!"

After walking through the large, unending hallways of the mothership for several minutes, Lexi and her team found a door that matched with the one described by the reptile. "Do you think this is it?" Duck said when studying the tall and metallic red door in front of them.

Lexi nodded and shot her brain blast at the recognition pad that was at the door's right, which was like an elliptical, green mirror with yellow glows. The pad exploded and turned into golden dust that vanished in seconds, then the door opened. "I hope so." She entered the unknown, dark room, followed by Rev and Duck.

Their eyes were delighted by the height of the ceiling, which had vertical lines of dark blue light that illuminated the room. They passed between several machines and pipelines before approaching a black rack that stored golden discs. "I guess these are the files we are looking for." Rev said while taking a look more at the side, discovering there were innumerable rows of racks behind.

Lexi sighed. "That means we must check all of th…" She gasped when Rev appeared in front of her holding one of the millions of discs, having left a red trace behind him.

"This is it, Lexi! The ship's blueprint which I found rapidly because you know I'm super fast." Rev held the disc right in front of her face. "You may wonder how could I possibly know it is this and no other because these guys use another language to name their files and stuff but it happens the discs have screens on them and I was able to change the language to ours so yeah I'm sure this is the right file!"

Lexi smiled proudly and took the disc, looking at its golden surface and the rectangular screen it had over it, which displayed the name of the file that confirmed Rev had indeed found the correct one. "Good job, Rev."

"Wow, you hadn't speak that much for a while." Duck crossed his arms. "I miss that now."

"So, where can we check this?" Lexi asked Rev.

"Oh I forgot to tell you." Rev said. "I found a computer, a giant computer, but I'm afraid the disc is encrypted, it will take me a while to decipher the code."

"Take your time, Rev." Lexi handed him the disc. "We trust you."

"More less." Duck said, getting a look of warning by Lexi, then he just stood quiet.

Rev took them to the workstation he had found several lines of racks ahead. It was at the right side, the big, circular blue monitor illuminated the place even more than the far lights of the ceiling, it was over a large console that almost covered that side of the room, with hundreds of buttons, levers and other input devices. Rev inserted the disc on the machine's slot "I'm sure Tech would be very impressed with this stuff." Lexi looked at the complexity of the console and its elements.

"Yeah, but we wouldn't be able to shut him up with his smart comments." Duck expressed while looking at Rev immersed in his super speed, going from one side of the console to the other, pressing keys, plugging and unplugging cables and devices, inside a red blur.

"I just hope Rev can handle this." Lexi murmured, approaching Duck.

"Didn't you say you trusted him?" Duck inquired, also murmuring.

"Of course I do." Lexi let out a sigh. "But, I'm not sure if he has that level of experience, like Tech."

Meanwhile, outside of Quantal's tall barrier, Quentin was touching its surface, grinning while looking up, glancing the wall's limit. "Destroy it." He backed away, letting Magnus and Heather to approach the wall, Magnus prepared a energy sphere between his hands, Heather started to glitch the center of the wall, she looked at him and Magnus returned the glance, they both nodded and Magnus let out a growl while throwing the attack. The purple phenomenon collided with the glitched wall, making an explosive reaction, the center of the wall became purple transparent in a blink and then it exploded into several, almost invisible broken pieces.

They had made a huge aperture on the wall, and without hesitation the three villains entered the city. People already ran and screamed for their lives, while several guards got in their way with their weapons ready to fire, their uniforms were now dark blue and they wore no helmets. Quentin chuckled and took a step forward. "We come at peace." He said. "Just don't try to stop us, and no one will get hurt."

The guards' leader, a black cat, began to charge his weapon, a dark blue laser rifle. "That you'll decide." He said, ready to shoot.

Quentin nodded. "Okay." He snapped his fingers and Magnus threw a huge energy ball at them, which hit them all and exploded when doing so, turning into a dense, purple smoke that dissipated slowly, revealing the unconscious guards laying on the ground.

Their victory was brief as three other groups of guards surrounded them, Heather smirked and put her hands on the ground. "My turn." She glitched the ground, selecting only the spots where the guards were standing, like cutting a circle below them, she raised her hands with a scream of effort and with that lifted the piece of ground she had cut, throwing the soldiers upwards, several meters from the ground, surpassing the buildings, they screamed desperately before hitting the ground, dying instantly by the height they had fallen from.

"Nice!" Quentin celebrated. "Keep going!" He commanded and looked at the castle over the mountain, he pointed at it and looked at his comrades. "There is our goal!"

With battle screams, the guards that arrived later tried to stop them, with no success, as Heather's glitched spikes and hammers where powerful against them, Magnus' invisible waves hit them hard and the invisible barrier that shielded him repelled the lasers with ease. Quentin just hid and moved when necessary, covering from both sides' attacks. "Get out of my way!" Heather extended her arms to the sides and separated the sandy ground under the guards' feet, making them to fall to a newly made abyss.

"Mourn is here." Magnus chuckled evilly. "Magnus is here now!" He pointed his hands at them, starting to throw purple rays at the ground that surrounded the guards, then branch shaped energy peaks started to rise from it, he then moved his hands almost randomly against his enemies, hurting them badly with each powerful hit, managing to take them down fast.

After clearing the zone, the three headed to the mountain's base, Quentin and Heather did so running, Magnus floated instead. They reached the foot of the mountain, Magnus started to float upwards, while Heather glitched the ground below her feet and Quentin's, then raised her hand slightly to make it float and move towards the mountain's top. After a brief way, they reached the castle's facade, Heather lowered herself and Quentin while Magnus kept floating behind them. "Magnus." Quentin glanced at his comrade turned monster. "Do the honors."

"My pleasure." Magnus snarled and hovered towards the tall door of the castle, aiming at it with his hands. He charged a huge, energy sphere and threw it at the door, destroying it easily, not leaving any ashes, just a strange purple powder. He entered the castle followed by his two colleagues.

"Ladies first." Quentin told Heather, right in front of the entrance.

"Thanks." Heather replied coldly and entered the place, then Quentin followed her.

Adam stood in front of his throne, giving them a confident, brave look. "You could've just knocked, father." He took small steps towards them.

Quentin smirked. "Sense of humor is something I didn't program in you." He emitted a brief chuckle. "I see you haven't forgotten me." The rising conversation left Heather and Magnus very confused.

"How could I?" Adam said when getting right in front of him. "I certainly thought you would change your ways." He glanced at his villainous company. "I see my hopes were in vain."

"Hope." Quentin put a hand on his shoulder. "That I put in your code, actually."

Adam nodded. "You did."

Quentin raised an eyebrow. "But you had other secrets to unleash, hadn't you?" He put a straight face. "Why such a powerful being needs an army to protect its kingdom?"

"I'm limited, father." Adam responded. "I renounced to my powers, for a very good cause." He smiled subtly. "I'm like everybody else now."

Quentin sighed, lowering his gaze and shaking his head. "What a shame." He looked at Adam. "Still, I'm grateful with you, for making this beautiful city for me."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Adam clenched his fists, maintaining a serious look.

Quentin chuckled and moved his hand away from his shoulder, turning his back on him. "Oh, Adam." He clapped a single time. "I made you, right?" He looked through the entrance, glaring at the clouds beyond the city.

Adam frowned. "You could argue that."

"We agree, then." Quentin kept glancing at the horizon. "That means everything your hands make, is mine by right."

Magnus took that as a signal, he floated towards Adam and stopped right in front of him, he attacked him with his mind and began to provoke a panic attack on him. Adam screamed with agony and got over his knees, putting both hands on the cold floor. "Wha…" He closed his eyes and started to let out more screams, more intense each time. "Fa…father!" He laid down and started to shake over the castle's floor.

"Son…I won't abandon this opportunity." Quentin said.

Heather glitched the floor and formed a transparent sword, she wielded it and rushed towards Adam with the weapon raised. "Let me help you with that!" She lifted the sword right above him.

"Wait!" Quentin exclaimed, making Heather to lower the blade.

"What now?" Magnus said with the same deep, unsettling voice.

Quentin walked towards them, stopping in front of Adam, looking at his face of suffering. "He could be useful." He looked at Heather. "Lock him up." Heather grinned and glitched the floor under Adam, then from it began to form a cell, made of a mix of floor and transparent glitch. She slowly got her hands close one from the other and with that closed the top of the cell. Quentin chuckled a bit, by the amazement he felt with Heather's expertise. "Good job."

Heather emitted a brief, arrogant laugh. "Like always." She controlled the cage with Adam inside it, moving it to the most distant corner of the throne room.

Quentin sighed with relief, knowing his plan had succeeded. He walked towards Adam's throne, standing in front of it, while Heather stood before Lyla's. Magnus hovered towards a side of the broken entrance to guard it from there. Quentin turned along with Heather, both of them glanced at the light that entered from the big aperture to the castle's inside. "This is it, Heather." He glared at her. "It's all ours." Heather slowly sat down on the throne. Her gaze was locked in the horizon beyond the castle.

Quentin sat down on his own throne after so, glaring at her. "How's the view?

Heather grinned subtly. "It could be better."

With a lot of hesitation, Quentin placed his hand over hers. "It will be." He said.

At first, Heather's eyes reflected confusion and a bit of anger by Quentin's sudden act, but after a long moment, she slowly started to accept it, not wanting it to end. Her eyes got focused on his, and finally, she took his hand with confidence.

Quentin blushed. "Sorry…if yo..." Quentin was interrupted.

"It's fine." Heather grinned at him. "I'm fine."

Author's note: Sorry for the delay.


	42. Episode 42: Cataclysm (part 6)

Loonatics: United

Episode 42: Cataclysm, part 6

Quentin and Heather had changed clothes, they now wore gray bodysuits with blue details like Adam an everybody else on Quantal, they had found them in one of the castle's many warehouses. They walked casually through a long hallway, holding each other's hand. "Why me?" Heather asked him.

Quentin smirked, with his gaze at the front. "Your abilities are extraordinary, I needed them to ensure the plan's success." He looked at her. "Or maybe…it was something else."

Heather blushed a bit. "I guess you read the articles."

"Oh I did." Quentin said. "Even if I only saw the pictures." He chuckled nervously. "I just…couldn't stop seeing you."

Heather chuckled. "Wreaking havoc is something one wouldn't consider attractive, you know."

"It wasn't that." Quentin said, then he lifted her hand to get it in front of his snout, kissing it tenderly.

Heather blushed, not saying a single word, but her smile spoke for her. They both reached a door made of opaque glass, Quentin opened it and it led them to a balcony, which had a great view of the city. She looked at the sun passing between the similar buildings, for a moment, she felt happy, but then an old feeling made her to undo her smile and lower her head. "This may not be for me."

"What?" Quentin inquired.

"For all my life, I've been running and hiding, without a place to go or someone to care about." Heather answered. "I don't know if I'm ready for those…distractions."

"Heather." Quentin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look at me." She glared directly at his eyes. "That life is behind, it's over." He caressed her cheek. "This is your place now." He smirked. "I'm here, you are not alone anymore."

Heather let out a doubtful, spontaneous chuckle of hope. "I'm not good adapting to new things." She put a hand on his cheek. "But…" She got closer to him. "I could try one more time." She started to kiss him, Quentin hugged her with affection, same as her.

Tech had finished fixing the jetpacks, he, Ace and Slam were on the heliport of A.R.M.'s HQ, on the roof, along with Anne, Peyton and Matt, who stood next to the chopper. "Okay, Matt, where did you locate the tracker?" Ace asked.

Matt sighed. "You are not gonna like this, guys. They are in Quantal."

Ace growled and put both hands over his head. "This must be a joke!" He lowered his arms and tried to calm down. "Well, there's no time to waste then, we'll go there now and take them out!" He hit the palm of his hand with his fist.

"Not so fast, boss." Tech said. "They have Mourn, we must put on our bracelets first to avoid any risks."

Ace sighed. "Of course." He looked at Matt and his team. "You'll need them too." He glared at Tech. "How long will it take you to make them new ones?"

Tech crossed his arms with security. "A couple of minutes."

Ace nodded and activated his jetpack, Slam and Tech did the same. "We'll meet at our HQ, then." He began to hover in front of the three members of A.R.M.

"Alright, Ace." Matt replied. When the Loonatics left, he gestured at Peyton, who nodded and entered the chopper, followed by her boss and Anne.

"Bracelets?" Peyton inquired while lifting the chopper from the ground.

"Mourn can make serious damage to the brain, Peyton." Matt explained. "At least that's what they've told me."

The Eye was being defeated, the street was covered with dead soldiers and destroyed vehicles. Hill was taking cover behind one of those burned trucks. A soldier approached him and crouched next to him. "Sir, they are massacring us!"

Hill sighed. "And what do you want me to do?!" His voice was rather broken. "This is all we got!"

"Call the AHP!" The soldier said. "They can be of great help!" They both had to talk louder as the screams and explosions were continuous.

Hill was hesitant to accept the idea, but he knew there was no other option. He took out his rugged flip phone and marked a three digit number, then waited for a response, which came rapidly.

"Acmetropolis Honorific Police, what's your emergency?" A male voice said.

Hill delayed a bit to answer. "The presidency has been taken over, my men are getting killed, we need your help immediately!"

"Hold on." The man said. "We've tracked down your location, I need you to confi…"

"Gillian's office! Fellow! It's a carnage, we need help now! We need it now!" Hill exclaimed with frustration.

"We are sending you reinforcements. Resist and don't panic, they are on their way." The man ended the communication.

Hill sighed, then looked at the soldier at his side. "They're our only hope now."

"What about the Loonatics? And A.R.M?" The soldier asked.

"Oh, yes." Hill started to get into his feet. "Don't you mention them ever again."

After a few minutes, the AHP arrived at the place of the battle in their green hoverbikes and uniforms, getting behind Hill's remaining vehicles. A woman, who was leading the group, got down the vehicle when spotting Hill, who was hiding on the same place. She took off her helmet and put it over her hoverbike. She was Rebecca Moon, Rev's girlfriend and captain of Acmetropolis Honorific Police. She approached him after a quick rush. "I wish we had met in better circumstances, General." She shook his hand. "Rebecca Moon, captain of the AHP."

"Thank you for coming." Hill said. "German might be in serious danger, we have to enter that tower." He poked his head a bit from the cover to glance at the building's facade, which was being protected by Troy, who took down anyone who tried to enter, helped by Nate and Kyle. "But is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible, General." Rebecca argued. "We just need a plan." She moved a bit to her side and gasped when seeing the three wolves killing the soldiers with a worrying ease. "A very good one." She lowered her gaze a bit and began to think, scratching her chin. She activated her wrist comm. "Get in line before the tower, and activate the shields." She turned to head to her vehicle.

"Shields, what are you doing?" Hill asked.

Rebecca sighed and looked at him. "Gaining time, General." She began to hurry towards her hoverbike, getting on it fast and putting on her helmet, she gestured towards the building and she accelerated followed by her group. The hoverbikes got in line as she had ordered, covering the sidewalk in front of the facade. "Activate the holo-shields!" She commanded and pressed a button on her bike, and from the windscreen a curved, blue hologram displayed, covering a radius of three meters approximately, and with everyone's shields combined, the AHP managed to create a big, holographic cover. "Get off your bikes and follow me, we need to make a plan to infiltrate the building!" She spoke through her comm and got off the vehicle, leaving her helmet there again, her men did so right when hearing the order.

"Help…me!" An injured soldier pleaded, he couldn't move his legs and was dragging himself towards the policemen. "Help!"

Just as that man, several other soldiers were hurt and asking for aid. Rebecca turned on her comm again. "Team Five, take care of the injured." She ordered, and the members of the team she mentioned started to gather where they saw hurt soldiers.

Rev was solving the puzzle of the encryption system, he found out what combinations and sub-processes needed to work in order to open the file, he pressed a hundred lines of code each second, and after a few minutes he managed to break the code. He stopped his super speed and while sighing, he looked at his teammates. "It's done." He glanced at the screen just as them, it displayed the mothership's blueprints, three-dimensional figures of every single mechanism of the ship. He noticed the heating system of the colossal vehicle. "There's our exploit."

"What does that even mean?" Duck raised an eyebrow.

"I could try to control the ship's heating system from here and raise the heat levels gradually with an executable program so we can escape before it gets too hot and explodes." Rev replied.

"I don't understand." Duck insisted.

Lexi sighed by Duck's comment. "If you are sure it will work, go ahead." With that, Rev nodded and started to work on the task, pressing keys and pulling levers. Lexi's ear twitched when hearing growls and steps near the place. "We have company." She said.

"Not again." Duck cooked two orbs over the palms of his hands. "How many? I can easil…" His eyes widened when a big group of reptiles showed up from the shadows. "Well, I could use some help."

Lexi charged her brain blast. "Keep working, Rev!" She began to walk towards the reptiles. "We'll cover you!"

"Okay! Thanks that's very kind from y…" Rev got interrupted.

"Get back to work!" Duck joked, provoking a frown in Rev.

"Loonatics…for your acts against the Seliptir, you will pay with your lives!" The leading reptile said, pointing his spear at them.

"Oh, you know who we are?" Duck juggled his energy orbs. "It seems we are universe-famous!"

"Infamous…I would say." The reptile replied.

"Enough talk…" Lexi shot her brain blast at the reptile's chest, he let out a scream of death and fell to the ground. "…bring it on!"

The reptiles growled with anger after the fall of their leader, they yelled in an unknown language and approached the two Loonatics, several reptiles threw their spears at Lexi, and she turned them into ashes with her blasts. She grinned cockily after the success of her defense. "Throwing away your weapons? Not so smart." She rushed towards them and started to throw kicks and punches at their scaly faces, while Duck surrounded them and took advantage of their distraction with Lexi, throwing orbs at them and hurting them constantly.

"Yeah! Nothing like a good, space-croc barbecue!" Duck teleported constantly to several spots, throwing more and more attacks. "Not my best joke, but it's too late!"

Three reptiles had approached Rev, he noticed so and with a gasp he used his super speed to evade an attack from a spear, which passed a few centimeters by his beak. "Wow so close!" He expressed when grasping the spear with both hands and moving it along with its wielder towards the rest of the reptiles, hitting them and making them to fall, but they recovered fast and found out Rev was nowhere to be seen, then they got hit several times by a quick, red blur. Rev punched them like if they were statues, their snouts moved a bit when he hit them with his fist, over and over, then he knelt their bellies and stopped using his superspeed, stopping right in front of the computer's console, resuming his work while the reptiles fell heavily to the black floor, defeated.

Lexi was brawling the last pair of reptiles, one of them tried to get behind her and trap her neck but she crouched and the reptile grabbed his comrade instead. She rapidly got into her feet and with a jump punched both reptiles' heads, they growled and got stunned, she charged her brain blast and suddenly an orange orb hit them and exploded, a couple of brief screams were heard and then the orangey smoke dissipated and revealed the two scaly soldiers laying on the ground, burned and carbonized.

Lexi grunted at Duck, who was standing next to the reptiles' bodies, with a cocky grin and his arms crossed. "I had them!" She argued.

Duck chuckled. "Maybe I'm just better than you, girl. But don't worry, you did a good job."

Lexi let out a growl. "You just came in the last sec…" She sighed and shook her head, knowing she was just playing Duck's annoying game. "Whatever." She walked towards Rev.

Duck stood there for a moment, then he headed to the console. "Last second? I would call it 'opportunity'." He spoke to himself silently before approaching his comrades.

"How's the task, Rev?" Lexi asked while looking at the confusing symbols that the monitor displayed with Rev's actions.

"I'm figuring it out, but there are so many mechanisms here I'm glad my helmet's screen can correlate any element I want in real time, a simple add-on I installed on it just in case." Rev replied. "Just in my helmet of course, you wouldn't know how to use that function anyway."

"Don't worry, Rev." Duck said. "I'm not offended."

"How long do you think is gonna take y…" Lexi was interrupted.

Rev sighed rather desperate. "I'm not sure!" He exhaled. "Just let me work, guys."

Lexi backed away a bit. "Okay." She responded, making gestures of precaution. "Take your time."

"Thank you." Rev kept working, then he lowered his head and turned to look at Lexi. "I'm sorry, I'm just…very nervous I mean what if I mess everything u…"

"You are doing fine, Rev." Lexi smirked at him. "As I said…we trust you."


	43. Episode 43: Cataclysm (part 7)

Loonatics: United

Episode 43: Cataclysm (part 7)

Author's note II: I had to republish this chapter, while I was writing the next one I found out a continuity error, there were two jets, one in space and the other on Acmetropolis, and I had to correct that, so the Loonatics just head to Quantal with their jetpacks instead of the jet, that's pretty much what I changed, nothing substantial. I'm sorry for that, I have to pay more attention while writing.

* * *

In the Loonatics HQ, at the lounge, Matt and Anne were sitting on the larger couch that faced the television, while Peyton was sitting on the one at the right, next to Slam. She occasionally looked at Anne, trying to apologize for the discussion they had in their own headquarters, but she feared that Anne could be still too upset with her. Finally, she decided to break the silence in the room. "Anne." She made her to look at her. "I…" She rubbed her arm while glancing a bit away. "I'm sorry."

Anne stood silent for a second, then she glared away from her and kept a straight face. "Okay."

Peyton lowered her head, knowing that her friend indeed was still angry, Slam noticed this and patted her back reassuringly. Matt had his eyebrow raised, he looked at his girlfriend and put a hand over her shoulder. "Is something wrong?" He murmured.

Anne shook her head, crossing her arms and letting out a sigh. "Not now, hon."

Peyton was resting her head on Slam's arm, almost falling asleep, Slam just looked at her, trying to figure out the feelings he was experiencing.

In the lab, Tech was taking the three newly made bracelets from the printer over the workstation, he then approached Ace and showed them to him. "They're ready."

Ace nodded and took the bracelets. "Good job, Doc." He said. "We are leaving now."

"You are forgetting something, boss." Tech walked towards a chest of drawers and from the first drawer he took three more bracelets, the ones they used back when they confronted Mourn. He approached him and handed him a bracelet. "Now, we are good to go." He smirked while putting on his own.

Ace smiled back. "Thanks, Doc." He put on his bracelet and turned to glance at the lab's door, ready to go on the mission. "Let's do this." He spoke with hope and a renewed confidence.

Everybody had put on their respective bracelets, the two teams were in the HQ's hangar, discussing the mission. "As soon as we arrive, we'll reach the castle and take them out of there, by any means, understand?" Ace commanded.

"Understood, Ace." Matt confirmed, then Peyton, who was listening from the chopper's pilot seat, turned on the flying vehicle in wait for her boss and Anne to hop in. "We are all good to go."

"Alright, then." Ace said. "Slam, Tech." He looked at his teammates. "Let's jet!"

The teams passed above the city's innumerable buildings, heading to the desert zone where Quantal was. The sun made the black, metallic surfaces of A.R.M.'s helicopter and the Loonatics' jetpacks to shine while en route to their destination, which was already getting in their sight.

"We'll reach the castle first." Ace told Matt through his comm. "Can you land your chopper on the mountain?"

"No problem, Ace." Matt replied.

"Alright, get prepared." Ace cut the communication, and after a couple of minutes, they were already flying at the city's airspace. Ace and Tech were looking at the disaster that the villains had made there, seeing the dead soldiers and the destruction. He sighed and shook his head while contemplating the scene. "Too much mess for just three people."

Tech nodded. "But not for long, boss. Not for long." The three Loonatics landed over a white and blue rooftop, it was not a tall building so the castle was still at a great height of distance.

"Come on." Ace commanded, who was hesitant about activating his jetpack, as an old fear was bothering him. Tech glared at him, ready to go.

"At your signal, boss." Tech said.

Ace let out a brief sigh. "Sure." He activated his jetpack and headed to the castle, then Tech and Slam followed him.

After a short flight, they reached the top of the mountain and landed there along with A.R.M.'s chopper, just in front of the castle's facade. Matt and the rest got down their vehicle and met with the Loonatics, glancing at the castle's aperture. "Woah." Peyton expressed, amazed by the castle's architecture, having now the chance to look at it more closely. "This is beautiful!"

"I gotta admit." Matt said. "Adam has talent for these things."

Anne rolled up her eyes. "Yeah, it's awesome, can we just fight already?"

Slam grolwed with concurrence and let out a monstruous growl, throwing punches at the air.

Ace nodded with a straight face, his eyes locked at the abrupt entrance that the villains had made. "We fight now." He said with a determined voice and walked decidedly towards the entrance, followed by the rest. They all entered the castle and saw the three villains expecting them, Magnus was frowning at them while floating between Heather and Quentin. Ace smirked mockingly at Magnus. "It seems you've found a replacement for your power." Magnus growled with anger and tried to attack him with his mind, but nothing happened.

Tech chuckled. "We have bad news for you." He crossed his arms. "Those are old tricks."

Quentin frowned at them, staying where he was. "You won't take away what is mine by right, Loonatics."

From the distance, Anne spotted the cage that kept Adam captive in a corner at the bottom of the throne room, she gasped and immediately tried to rush towards there, but Magnus attacked her with an energy sphere, she groaned by the hit and smashed onto a wall then fell to the floor, hurt badly.

Quentin glared from the scene to the heroes, smirking with confidence. "Maybe not that old."

"Anne!" Matt yelled and hurried rapidly towards her in order to aid her, but Heather glitched the floor below his feet and raised it, throwing him upwards and making him to fall painfully to the floor. He groaned while trying to overcome the several aches he felt.

Ace growled and readied his laser vision, he ran towards Heather followed by Tech and she started to throw spikes of glitch at them, Ace and Tech dodged them successfully, both of them confronted her and Ace began to shoot his laser at her but she knelt down and made a shield of glitch, which blocked Ace's continuous attack. Tech raised his hands and started to gather metal pieces from the outside, from scraps and bolts to cans and posts, all of that metal entering through the aperture and gathering in a sphere shape above Tech.

Quentin was hiding behind one of the thrones, watching the battle. "You can deal with them, sweetheart. You can do it." He murmured.

Meanwhile, Slam was fighting with Magnus, dodging his purple, energy peaks with his tornado, he let out a cocky growl when getting right before Magnus then jumped slightly with a tornado impulse and punched his face, only managing to hurt him a bit, even if he hit him with all of his strength. Magnus laughed and formed two dark purple spheres over the palms of his hands, smirking evilly at him. "You are weak…inferior." He backed his arms and then threw the spheres at the floor right in front of Slam's feet, destroying and cracking it and sending Slam far away from him.

With several hits, Slam growled and bumped until he almost reached the castle's entrance, where Peyton was taking cover behind a column. She approached Slam, who was laying on the floor. She got closer to him to help him stand up, only managing to lift his arm. "Slam!" She said, Slam groaned and used her help, getting up quite effortfully. "Oh, that guy…are you okay?"

Slam growled jokingly, stating he didn't recognize her, but his subtle chuckle evidenced him.

Peyton sighed. "That's not funny, you know this is a life or de…" She gasped again when seeing Magnus approaching them fast, floating with his fists clenched, Slam snarled and got in front of Peyton, protecting her.

"Fall before my power!" Magnus yelled and tried to punch him with both fists, but Slam caught them with his hands and put resistance, frowning and grunting at Magnus while resisting the increasing strength.

Heather was defensive as she was still taking cover behind the glitched shield she held, crouching and giving small steps backwards while Ace shot his laser. Ace sighed with frustration and decided to jump on the shield, action that caused Heather to fall to the floor, gasping and laying there, dropping the shield, Ace landed next to her with his power ready, he focused on her shoulder and began to shoot at it, making her to scream by the intense pain.

"No!" Quentin stood up and exited from his cover, hurrying towards Ace, who didn't see him coming and got tackled. They both fell to the ground, Ace stopped using his power and rapidly freed himself from Quentin's hold by kneeling his stomach, making the fox to groan and stay on the floor. Ace stood up rather quickly but Heather had recovered, she was standing in front of him, covering her wounded shoulder.

"You'll pay for…" Heather groaned. "This…bunny." With her free hand she glitched the ground under Ace's feet and from it grew transparent, irregular structures which she used to cuff Ace's legs and Arms, only leaving free his clenched fists.

Ace moved uselessly in his sudden prison, gasping and frowning at her. "Tech…I could use some help now!" He turned a bit to look at his comrade.

Tech let out a gasp of effort when finishing constructing the big, metal sphere he was forming. "Almost…" He opened his eyes and looked at Heather. "Done!" He screamed when using all his strength to throw the metallic sphere at Heather, which hit her directly on the face, she hit the floor several times until reaching the wall, bumping her head on it and getting stunned by the hit.

Quentin finally got into his feet, rubbing his aching belly, then he gasped when seeing Heather resting against the wall, with her eyes almost completely closed. "Love!" He rushed towards her.

Tech walked towards Ace, still controlling the huge, metallic sphere, he stood in front of him and backed his arm along with the floating object. "I'll get you out, boss." He smirked. "Just don't move."

Ace put a straight face but then grinned a little bit. "So funny, Doc." He instinctively closed his eyes, then Tech began to hit the transparent prison with the sphere, breaking it into several pieces of glitch until Ace got completely free. Ace dusted off his suit and Tech dropped the ball on the floor, making a big hole on it by the sphere's weight. Ace gave him a thumbs up. "Thank you, Doc. I'll help Slam with Magnus, you take care of Matt and Anne." Tech nodded, then turned and went for Anne first.

Slam groaned constantly as Magnus hit him with energy spheres, he was starting to get tired, Peyton was hiding behind a column, trying to cheer him up. "He is not rival for you Slam! You beat him before!"

Slam growled in response when crouching to dodge an attack, stating it was a different case. He managed to approach Magnus, he didn't hesitate to jump and try to punch his face, but Magnus grasped his neck. Slam coughed and tried to get free with his tornado, but Magnus' grasp was very strong. Magnus smiled and looked at him with his white eyes.

"Is this how a fallen hero looks before the end?" Magnus began to choke him even more fiercely. "Pathetic."

Ace arrived and shot his laser at Magnus, hitting his side. Magnus growled with an echo and let go off Slam, who fell down over one knee, then Ace and Peyton approached him then helped him to get up. "Come on, big guy." He gasped when managing to get him over his feet. "We can beat him, together." Just after that, Tech met with them along with Matt and Anne, who had almost recovered but stood with his aid.

"Ace." Tech looked at Magnus' eyes of fury. "We need the others."

Ace nodded. "I kn…"

"I'm not done with you!" With the help of Quentin, Heather stood again before them, with both arms aiming at the floor between her and the heroes, who were just in front of the aperture. She moved her hands towards them and made a wave with the castle's floor after glitching it, the wave moved fast so they couldn't evade it, they all gasped when getting hit by the strength of the wave, the attack was too strong that it send them beyond the surface outside of the castle, which also merged with the wave Heather had created and with that the chopper also started to fall just as them.

The three Loonatics rapidly activated their jetpacks while falling and each one of them grabbed a member of A.R.M., Ace held Anne, Tech grabbed Matt and Slam carried Peyton, then they headed to the rooftop of the building where they had landed before. The chopper had gotten totally destroyed. They landed on the rooftop safely and Tech glared at the castle over the mountain, just as the rest. "I insist, boss." He looked at Ace. "We really need the others."

Ace stood silent for a moment, looking at the castle with a glare of defeat. "I know, Doc." He replied. "We are heading back to the HQ."

Author's note: Again, sorry for the delay. You may still expect weekly-ish updates from now on but maybe not in a precise day, but don't worry, the updates will continue.


	44. Episode 44: Cataclysm (part 8)

Loonatics: United

Episode 44: Cataclysm, part 8

The battle was still going between the red armored wolves and the men of Hill and Rebecca, the holographic barrier managed to protect them from several attacks like cars and huge pieces of debris that the wolves threw, but some brave soldiers and policemen got killed easily when exiting their cover and trying to confront them.

Rebecca managed to meet with a small group of soldiers that hid in an alley next to the building, she was standing by her hoverbike, trying to make up a plan. "They'll find us here, eventually, we must break into this building. It's the only way to end this"

"Don't you think we've tried, lady?" A soldier said. "The walls are reinforced, not even our weapons can destroy them."

"Any vents or windows we could use?" Rebecca asked.

Another wolf shook his head. "We've checked twice, there's no way in."

Rebecca thought for a moment, then she glanced upwards. "Maybe there is." She got thoughtful again, then she nodded at her own idea and started to setup her wrist-comm.

"Who are you calling?" A soldier said.

"The Loonatics." Rebecca responded.

The wolf's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?! Those traitors?!"

"I don't care about whatever business you have with them." Rebecca waited for a response with her snout close to her comm. "We need their help, like it or not."

The wolf stood up from the ground, grunting and approaching her. "I'm not accepting any hel…"

"Shh!" Rebecca expressed, gesturing at him. "Ace, it's Rebecca Moon, do you copy?"

"Ace here, what's the matter?" He said from the other side.

"The President has been kidnapped." Rebecca answered. "We need your help to free him."

"I would be glad to help, Rebecca." Ace sighed. "But we are dealing with some issues of our own here, maybe The Eye could help you."

"They called us, Ace." Rebecca responded. "We are still too few for this."

"Too few?" Ace asked. "What exactly are you dealing with?"

The wolf that had disagreed with Rebecca got impatient and took her arm to reach the comm. "Listen, hero! Quentin's men have taken over! If you don't come here and…"

"Those guys?!" Ace exclaimed. "This is…" He sighed. "Okay, now I understand, don't worry, I'll see what I can do."

Rebecca pushed the wolf and approached her comm again. "Thank you, Ace." She heard a noisy explosion, which made her to turn a bit, then she went back to the conversation. "Soon, please."

"Sure, Rebecca." Ace replied. "Hold on." He cut the communication.

In the lab, where Tech was diagnosing Matt and Anne with a remote that scanned them with a green, projected light, Ace was sitting on a white chair while glancing at the large window. "Slam, Matt." He said.

Tech finished scanning them, he checked the device's small screen, which showed they didn't have grave wounds. "Good news, these are only superficial." He smirked at them.

"Well." Matt gasped and rubbed his arm. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." He approached Ace. "What is it, Ace?" Slam had gotten behind him.

"The President is in trouble, Rebecca needs your help to save him." He stood up from the chair and looked at them both with a straight face. "So The Eye." He sighed and gave small steps in front of them. "They are fighting with the Renegades, they won't get out of this one without you."

"The…Eye?" Matt inquired with a tone of hesitation.

Ace nodded and glared at him. "Yes, Matt. I know you still have issues with Hill, but th…"

"No, I mean, maybe we ended with some trouble, but, uhm…" Matt got interrupted by Ace's sigh.

"The point is, that Slam and you have super strength." Ace stated. "I can't think of a better reinforcement."

"But what about Quantal?" Anne joined the conversation from her spot, she was standing next to Tech.

"The rest of us will deal with that." Ace replied. "When the others return."

"He is right, Anne." Tech said. "We'll have a better chance to defeat them if we are complete." He looked at Ace. "Besides, we need Lexi and Ace together to use the wave cannon and bring down Magnus."

Slam growled in acceptance of Ace's orders, thundering his fingers and patting Matt's shoulder quite aggressively, making him to rub it.

"Then is decided, go help Rebecca, we'll wait here for the rest." Ace commanded, then Matt and Slam nodded and exited the lab.

"Alright, boss." Tech crossed his arms. "What's next?"

Ace shook his head. "We can't reclaim Quantal without the others." He activated his comm. "I'm calling Lexi." He waited impatiently for a response.

Meanwhile, Rev was still working on the computer, configuring lots of things, pressing keys, plugging and unplugging cables and cartridges while moving fast before the console. Lexi was resting against a wall next to Duck. She received the transmission and activated her comm. "Ace?"

"Oh, Lexi, I'm so glad to hear you." Ace said. "How are things going up there?" His voice sounded quite blurry.

Lexi sighed. "So so, we got attracted by the ship and now we are trapped."

Ace gasped. "Trapped?" He let out a sigh. "I should've gone with you, I knew th…"

"Don't worry, Ace, we're fine." Lexi reassured. "Rev figured out how to destroy the ship, he is working on that right now."

"How long will that take?" Ace asked.

Lexi sighed and shook her head. "I have no idea."

Ace responded after a few seconds. "I understand. Just be careful and keep us updated, okay?"

"No problem." Lexi said, cutting the communication.

"Love y…" Ace found out the transmission was cut, he just put eyes of disappointment and turned to look at his team. "Get ready, we are helping them out."

"How are we heading to space? They have the jet." Tech said.

"Not them, Doc." Ace replied. "Rebecca and The Eye, that's the only thing we can do now." He glared at Anne. "Anne, you'll stay here with Peyton, just let us know if you get any news."

Anne sighed and lowered her head. "Right."

Ace glanced at his sides, with his eyebrow raised. "Uhm, and Peyton?"

"At the lounge." Tech answered.

"Good." Ace said. "It's time to get going, then."

At Quantal, in the throne room, Quentin and Heather were sitting on their thrones, holding hands and looking at each other's eyes. "What will be our next move?" Heather asked.

Quentin grinned. "To prosper."

"I'm serious." Heather replied.

Quentin gently squeezed her hand a bit more. "So am I, love. We are now rulers of an entire city, we can do whatever we want."

Heather glanced away from him. "They will return, Quentin." She slowly looked back at him. "The Loonatics."

"Don't you worry." Quentin said. "We'll deal with them, this time for good." He smirked. "Then you and I will only live to thrive." He stood up a bit and kissed her forehead, then sat down again and caressed her cheek. "You don't like the idea?"

Heather remained thoughtful for a moment, then she took his hand, the one that was over her cheek. "I do."

Quentin smiled at her then kissed her. "A bright future awaits us."

Slam growled at Nate and Kyle from the distance while throwing debris at them, they destroyed the improvised projectiles with their raised fists, in the battlefield outside of the tower of the President's office. Troy was dealing with the several soldiers that dared to battle him, killing them with a single punch while his armor protected him from the shots of their weapons, then right when Troy was about to smash a laying soldier with a huge piece of concrete he was lifting, Matt tackled him and brought him down, then the soldier escaped from the peril in a hurry.

"Did you really think you would get away with this?" Matt punched him repeatedly on the snout while holding his neck under his arm.

Troy grunted. "I only act when I'm sure." He gasped and with his foot took impulse, passing over Matt and kneeling down next to him, having undone the hold. Troy grasped his neck and started to choke him. "And I'm sure I'll reign this city!" He punched him. "I'm sure about that!" He violently lowered his head onto the concrete while still choking him, the concrete broke by the hit.

Matt groaned and gasped. "You…have no idea…" He backed his head a bit. "With who I've dealt with." He screamed and hit Troy's forehead with his own, cracking his helmet, making them both to bleed, Troy yelled by the strong pain he felt and fell to the ground covering his head, gasping.

Matt gasped and got over one knee, trying to get fully up. He slowly managed to put one foot over the ground, then with another gasp of effort he stood up completely and began to walk towards Troy cautiously. He took small steps towards him, he was still groaning by the wound, but he suddenly began to regain some strengths and with a scream of rage he got into his feet rapidly and threw an erratic punch at Matt, which he barely dodged, but then he threw another one and this time managed to hit his face.

Ace and Tech arrived, flying over the battle with their jetpacks. Ace noticed the brawl between Matt and Troy, he saw that the soldiers and policemen behind them had a clear path to take and enter the building but they were still too hesitant to even get close to Troy or the other two Renegades. He activated his laser vision and started to shoot it at the space between Matt and Troy and the armies of The Eye and the AHP, who backed away a bit when the laser got before them. Ace looked at them and pointed at the path he had noticed.

"Get moving! There's a free path to the tower, I'll keep covering you!" Ace told them.

"But the Reneg…" A soldier was interrupted.

"Trust me!" Ace replied, maintaining his laser in the same spot, moving it back and forth slightly to make a barrier between them and Troy, to impede him to see them. The soldiers and policemen finally obeyed him and began to take the path to the tower's principal door.

Hill didn't want to take the path as Ace had been the one who cleared it for them, but he knew it was the only way and just growled while heading there followed by another group. "Forget your pride, fellow." He murmured to himself while shaking his head.

Rebecca, along with other policemen, was taking care of the wounded soldiers both of The Eye and The AHP on a improvised area they had made with some of their hoverbikes arranged in circle, with the holo-shields still activated which created a dome of protection over the several wounded men that laid on the ground. Through the blue, holographic dome, Rebecca spotted the soldiers and some of her men rushing towards the building's entrance, she received a transmission on her comm and answered it immediately. "Moon here."

"Captain, we are reaching the door." A male voice said. "I suggest you to come and lead the…"

"I'm busy here." Rebecca said while putting a bandage on the leg of a soldier. "Just follow t…"

"G…go." The wolf pointed at the front while looking at her. "Th…" He groaned. "They need…you."

Rebecca looked at him in silence for a moment, then she sighed and stood up, glaring at the others that were helping with the wounded. "Don't leave them alone, understand? No matter what you hear or what happens." She gave them a look of warning. "These brave men are your responsibility." They just nodded at the command and kept attending the wounded, this time with more efficiency. Rebecca walked through the holographic dome and exited from it, as her suit had a built in authorization code to pass, then she started to rush towards the building, spotting the path that Ace was still clearing with his laser vision. "Wait there." She said through her comm. "I'm on my way."

Kyle and Nate threw more and more debris and destroyed vehicles at Slam, who received the hits hard but kept walking towards them nonetheless. "They are getting too close!" Nate said while spotting the men heading to the door.

Kyle growled and let go off a huge piece of concrete. "And what do you want me to do?!" He glanced away and his eyes widened when seeing Slam jumping before them. "Oh n…" Slam punched the ground with his clenched fists, roaring monstrously, the impact broke the concrete and made Kyle and Nate to fly towards the building, smashing onto the wall and falling heavily to the ground. While still groaning and trying to recover, Tech approached them, hovering with his jetpack and carrying a pair of lampposts with his magnetic abilities, he put the lampposts over them and wrapped them around the two red armored wolves, who began to move with desperation as they tried to free themselves from Tech's improvised hold. Slam then approached the groups of soldiers and policemen that rushed towards the building and escorted them there with surveillant eyes. Matt was still brawling with Troy, they were both already fatigued by the fight, but Matt really wanted to end it, so he punched his face twice, breaking his helmet completely as it was already damaged, then kicked his stomach, making him to groan and get over his knees.

"It's over, Troy!" Matt cleaned a bit of blood off his snout when managing to control his adversary, who was sighing and struggling to get up. "I say it's over!" He punched him again, Troy then fell and laid on the ground.

"You think you are…a hero?" Troy gasped, his gaze was lost on the destroyed concrete. "You are nothing, youngling." He tried to get on his knees again but Matt kicked his snout and got him unconscious. He glanced at him cautiously for several seconds, then he began to walk away from him, heading to the building's entrance.

Meanwhile, Tech and Ace were flying with their jetpacks towards the rooftop of the tower, they arrived quite quickly and landed there safely. They both glanced at every corner of the roof and found a hatch just in the middle and approached it. "After you, Doc." Ace said, Tech nodded and opened the hatch, then he and his boss entered and went down the brief staircase that led to the last floor. They walked hurriedly through the hallway. "How can we reach that apartment in time?

Tech stopped walking and smirked while pointing backwards at the elevator that was just behind him. "I think I got the solution, boss."

Ace chuckled. "Maybe I'm a bit too accustomed to complicated things."

In the mothership, Rev was still setting up lots of stuff in the computer, thing that began to get Duck impatient. "Oh man could you just finish that up already?" Duck stood up as he was laying on the floor with his back rested on the wall. He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Why is it taking you too long?" He walked a bit towards Rev, who had stopped using his super-speed. "I made you a question!"

Lexi growled and approached Duck. "Give him some time, Duck!"

"He has gotten time, Lexi!" Duck frowned and pointed at Rev with his hand. "And see, nothing happens!"

Lexi pointed at Duck warningly. "If you think you can do it better, then go on!" She waited for a response, then sighed angrily and returned to the corner where she had been waiting, she rested her head against a metallic column while glaring away. Duck couldn't make up an answer for that, so he just stood there, silent, then he shook his head and began to return to his previous spot, but then Rev spoke and made him to glance at him instead.

"I think I've figured it out." Rev said while pressing some keys on the big keyboard, and after writing some commands, he looked at the screen and pressed the equivalent to the Enter key. Nothing new showed up on the screen.

Duck yawned and crossed his arms. "I'm waiting."

"Duck." Lexi warned.

"Wha…" Rev raised an eyebrow and pressed the key twice. "It sh…" The room started to tremble violently.

Lexi gasped, holding from a pipeline that went all the way from the ceiling to the floor. "Rev, is this, uhm, normal?"

Rev held tightly from the edge of the console, writing commands with his free hand, looking from the screen to the keyboard and vice versa repeatedly, with eyes of true concern. "No I mean I was sure I deactivated all the protocols maybe is just a…" His eyes widened when an emergent window appeared on the monitor, with the text 'Security Protocol Activated. Early Arrival: System S2005: Acmetropolis.' The ship started to move faster towards the planet, the monitor was showing live images of the ship heading there.

Lexi let go off the pipeline by the strength of the tremble, managing to place her hands on the wall where Duck was also holding from. "Maybe not all of them."

Rev started to hyperventilate. "I messed up I messed up I messed up!" He let out a desperate growl.

The lights of the place turned red along with the rest in the ship's inside, the tremble got stronger and explosions began to occur inside the room. Duck teleported from spot to spot and then he got next to Rev, watching over his own balance. "What did you do?!" Duck asked angrily.

"I…I thought it would work." Rev was still holding from the console's edge, looking at his comrade with a glare of fear and apologize.

"Guys!" Lexi rushed towards them, trying to maintain balance by the strength of the tremor. "We must get out of here! Now!"

"No! I can fix it!" Rev exclaimed with a broken voice, pressing several sets of buttons on the console.

"Forget about it, Rev!" Lexi took his arm. "We must go!"

Duck grunted. "I knew it! Tech would have done better!"

Rev frowned and growled angrily, freeing himself from Lexi's hold, then rapidly turned at Duck and pushed him. "Shut up!" He put a finger on his chest and looked at him menacingly. "Would you've done it better?! Tell me!"

Duck pushed his hand away from him. "Maybe not but I'm sure I wouldn't have condemned an entire planet! Acmetropolis is dead and it's your fault!"

With no previous warning, Rev punched Duck in the beak so hard he made him to fall to the floor. Lexi gasped and approached Duck, helping him to stand up. Duck moved her away from him aggressively. "Let me go!" He rubbed his beak.

Lexi looked at them both, upset and disappointed. "What's wrong with you two?! We are a team! Don't you know what's in stake here!" She gave them a look of scold and authority, both had their glance away from the other's. Lexi grunted and sighed with frustration then gasped and glanced up when hearing the big explosion that occurred on the ceiling. "We don't have time for this nonsense! Let's get out of here!" She looked at Rev. "Now!" She exclaimed.

Rev began to use his superspeed, he then held Lexi with his arm then turned his glare back, looking at the almost completely still Duck, he frowned and ran towards him, holding him with his other arm, then he headed towards the door behind the file racks, which started to explode one by one in a domino effect, the ceiling and the walls got destroyed by the intensity of the several explosions, he finally reached the door, which had been left open and when barely exiting the place, behind him a final explosion occurred, which destroyed the file room completely.


	45. Episode 45: Cataclysm (part 9)

Loonatics: United

Episode 45: Cataclysm (part 9)

The men of Hill and Rebecca rapidly went upstairs inside the tower, dozens of stairs took them to the hallway that led to German's apartment, arriving along with Tech and Ace, almost right when the elevator's door opened in the middle of the great corridor. Ace exited the elevator followed by Tech and turned to the left, gasping when he spotted an apartment with a missing door. He then glared rightwards at the policemen and soldiers, who were being led by Slam, Matt, Hill and Rebecca.

Ace pointed at the apartment's entrance. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" He commanded and hurried towards the apartment, followed by The Eye and the AHP, not before Slam and his other comrades. They reached the apartment and entered group after group after Ace and Tech got inside, Hank was standing there, expecting them with a battle position.

"Those were only the backups." Hank thundered his fingers. "I'm the real threat here."

"That we'll see." Ace readied his laser vision and a group of soldiers of The Eye approached Hank, trying to hold him. Hank grunted as he found it difficult to free himself from them, but then with a somersault, he managed to send them all to the floor, he landed safely on his feet, he then rapidly crouched and hit their heads with his open fist, killing them while they tried to recover. "Another volunteer?!" Hank stood up and frowned with a menacing look.

All the men of The Eye and the AHP rushed towards him, some of them firing their weapons at him and others battling him directly, the laser shots disappeared on his suit and the ones who chose a direct brawl barely managed to hit him once, the majority rapidly perished by the strength of his kicks and punches. He lifted the ones he only injured from the ground and threw them to the window, breaking the glass and therefore sending them to their deaths.

"No!" Rebecca yelled angrily and approached him.

"Rebecca!" Ace exclaimed with worry. "Wait!"

Rebecca punched his snout, with no single effect at all, Hank chuckled and grasped her neck then lifted her off the ground and smashed her on the floor. He then kicked her with an unmeasurable strength, sending her to the wall at the right, she groaned painfully when hitting the wall and then the floor. She laid there while trying to get on her feet with a lot of effort, but she couldn't get up, she let out a sigh of great exhaustion and fully laid there again, hurt and unconscious. Hank started to laugh mockingly, applauding and glaring at the remaining adversaries with eyes of challenge.

Slam growled with rage and lifted both fists above Hank after getting close to him, he lowered them fast and Hank held them with both hands, gasping and laughing at the same time. "You're so…pathetic!" He groaned and pushed Slam's fists, getting momentarily free of trouble, because Matt had got next to him and hit his face with a flying kick, managing to damage his helmet. Hank got over his knee, looking at Matt, enraged. "You'll beg for a quick death whe…" He screamed by the pain when Ace began to burn his chest with his laser vision.

"You were saying?!" Ace joked.

"Gah!" Hank groaned and tried to stand up but the heat was passing through his armor very quickly.

Tech went to help Rebecca, crouching next to her. "Rebecca." He put his index finger over her neck, finding out she still had pulse, and with a sigh of relief, he carried her and got into his feet. "Hold on, girl." He looked at her with worry. "Hold on."

Ace stopped using his laser vision on Hank, who gasped and put both hands on the floor. He walked towards him. "You're done." He sentenced.

Hank snarled, raising his gaze towards him. "I'll make you pay for th…" Slam interrupted him with a punch, which got him totally unconscious. Hank laid on the floor, knocked out and defeated.

Ace looked at Slam. "I had the situation controlled, but thanks, anyway."

Slam growled in response, stating there was nothing to thank for.

Hill approached Hank and took a pair of cuffs from his jacket, then he knelt down next to him and put the wolf's hands on his back and cuffed them. He stood up and glanced at Ace hesitantly. He nodded at him after a moment. "Thanks." He almost murmured, Ace just nodded back.

Matt looked at all the dead bodies of the soldiers of the Eye and the men of the AHP. "What a disaster." He said softly, then his ear twitched when hearing steps on the entrance, as Troy, Nate and Kyle arrived.

"This ain't over yet!" Troy glared at Matt, then at Hill, who stood next to him. "Kyle, Nate…finish them." Kyle went after Ace while Nate approached Slam, Troy rushed directly towards Matt and the General. Tech just went to a corner to keep Rebecca safe.

Kyle kicked Ace's arm, which gave him the chance to grasp his leg and hit it with his knee, making the wolf to groan and rapidly move his leg away from him, he punched Ace on the face twice and when the third hit was coming Ace stopped it with the palm of his hand then jumped and with both of his feet kicked his chest, bringing him down. Kyle gasped when his head bumped on the floor, Ace crouched next to him and took off his helmet forcedly, then punched him several times until the wolf got unconscious. Ace sighed repeatedly while standing up and glaring at his now defeated rival, he then took a pair of cuffs from a dead soldier's belt and cuffed Kyle with his hands on the back.

Slam had easily dealt with Nate, he was holding him from the feet and smashing him on the floor continuously, Nate yelled and groaned several times, his helmet got destroyed in one of the constant hits he received on the floor, Slam lifted him once again and smashed him on the floor with a growl, he then saw Matt and Hill fighting with Troy and went to help them, leaving Nate on the crater over the floor, definitely defeated.

Troy blocked a kick from Matt with a fast leg movement, and at the same time blocked a punch from Hill with his elbow. He kicked Matt's shin, who let out a small groan of pain but resisted the attack and punched Troy, who gasped and got a bit stunned, Hill took advantage of that and gave a slight jump then raised his arm and with his elbow hit Troy's nape. The Renegade groaned by the pain and fell down, almost instantly trying to stand up. Slam took the chance to make his way towards him and gently moved Hill and Matt to the sides, he growled beastly and covered his fist with a hand, then he snarled again and hit Troy right on the head, the wolf couldn't even react as the attack neutralized him instantly. Matt nodded at their success and looked at Hill. "Good job, General."

Hill stood silent for a moment, then smirked a bit at him. "You've improved, fellow."

Matt smiled then Slam got next to him and growled upset. Matt chuckled and looked at Slam. "Okay, you did well too, Slam."

Ace cuffed Nate and dragged him where he had left Kyle, laying before the large, broken window, then he did the same with Hank and Troy, helped by the others, except for Tech, who then approached his boss, carrying Rebecca. "Boss." Tech glared a bit at Rev's girlfriend. "She needs immediate attention." He glanced at Ace. "We must go now or she won't make it."

Ace nodded. "Sure." He looked at Hill. "Gener…"

"Don't worry, fellow." Hill crossed his arms. "I'll take care of these guys." He gestured at the four red armored wolves. "Again."

Ace nodded at him, then glared at his team, Matt, Tech and Slam. "We sh…"

"Wait, where's the pr…" Matt got interrupted by tenuous, sudden groans.

Ace walked towards the closet as he heard the sounds came from there, he tried to open the door but found out it was locked, then he burned the door lock with his laser vision and the door opened before him, revealing German Gillian laying on the floor, looking at him with lost eyes, groaning by the wounds he had. "H…help…m…" German sighed and closed his eyes.

Ace gasped. "He is badly hurt." He looked at Tech. "Do we have enough space in the in…"

"We'll take care of him in the base." Hill proposed. "Is our duty."

Ace crouched and lifted German, getting his arm over his shoulders to take him with Hill. "Thanks, General." Hill received the President the same way Ace was carrying him. Ace turned and approached Tech, then Slam and Matt did the same. Ace gave a final look at Hill, then activated his jetpack and left the apartment by the broken window followed by Tech, who carefully carried Rebecca.

"Alright I'll tell you when I'm…" Matt got suddenly hugged by Slam, who activated his jetpack and left the place hurriedly. "Reaaaaadyyy!" Matt's scream was heard from many near spots.

Hill activated his comm, watching over the unconscious wolves. "Hill here, I need all the teams at full disposition."

"Sorry, Sir?" A soldier said from the other side of the line. "I thought you only needed the first legions."

Hill sighed. "They are all done, fellow." He lowered his head, then glared at his dead men. "They are done."

Rev had taken Lexi and Duck to the ship's hangar after having escaped from the explosions. He stopped running right in front of the team's jet. Lexi briefly glanced at him and thanked him with a nod. She then rushed into the ship's cockpit. "Get on!" Duck and Rev obeyed Lexi's command and entered the jet, standing behind her while she was activating the systems. Lexi let out a sigh of relief. "The block is off." She informed and closed the jet's door with the press of a button. "Time to go home." She then placed a hand on her face. "The gate…" She was glancing at the front through the window, remembering they still had to exit the mothership.

"Leave it to me." Duck thundered his fingers. "I'll take care."

"What will y..?" Lexi couldn't finish the phrase as Duck teleported, she then saw him hovering with his jetpack outside of the jet, right in front of the hangar's gate.

Duck started to throw countless orbs at the gate, at first it seemed it wasn't taking any damage but after about a minute several cracks began to appear on the gate's black surface. "Aren't I awesome?!" He yelled.

"I didn't think about that." Lexi said, with a face of approval.

The gate started to make cracking noises. Duck was still throwing orbs at it. "Get ready, Lexi!"

Lexi set up the console before her and the ship began to hover. "Ready!" She grasped the jet's steering wheel.

Duck gasped when the gate finally broke into lots of pieces that got vacuumed out to the outer space. Lexi reacted fast and accelerated to get completely out of the mothership. Seconds before Lexi managed to take the vehicle to a safe distance from the alien ship, Duck teleported rapidly to the jet's inside, appearing behind Lexi and next to Rev. "Yeah!" Duck celebrated with his fist raised. "Mission accomplished!"

Lexi and Rev looked at the mothership entering Acmetropolis' orbit. She shook her head and followed the ship. "We did nothing, Duck."

"She is right." Rev said, then walked away from them to sit down on the backside.

Lexi sighed and glared back a bit. "Sorry, Rev. I didn't mean t…" She stopped talking as Rev gestured at her, letting her know he had enough. She looked at the front again and activated her comm. "Ace…" She was afraid to tell him what happened.

"Lexi…" Ace's voice sounded worried, the ship had arrived at the city.

"We…we have a huge problem." Lexi replied. "The mission failed."

In the HQ's lab, Ace was looking through the window along with Slam at the enormous shadow that was covering the city, and the huge, black and golden mothership above it. "Copy that." Ace said monotonously, anguished by the darkness that increasingly covered his home world.

Tech was in the lab's infirmary taking care of Rebecca, who wore a hospital gown and laid over the bed, with her eyes closed and still unconscious. Tech noticed the darkness and with an eyebrow raised exited the infirmary and gasped when seeing the mothership taking over the sky's sunset. He approached Ace and Slam, Matt was also glancing at the scene. Peyton and Anne joined them later, with the same looks of concern and amazement at the same time.


	46. Episode 46: Cataclysm (part 10)

Loonatics: United

Episode 46: Cataclysm (part 10)

Lexi, Rev and Duck had returned to Acmetropolis. They were reunited with their comrades in the HQ's lab, along with Anne, Matt and Peyton, discussing the situation, standing up around the table that was on the center, except for Rev, who was standing on a corner, away from them, glancing at the floor. "The plan was going well, we tried to destroy the ship but…" Lexi was interrupted by Rev's sudden words.

"I messed up." Rev's voice was broken, he gazed at them with real shame.

"Rev, I know how you must be feeling right now, but believe me." Lexi tried to reassure him. "This is not your fault."

Rev walked towards them. "It is." He breathed in to try to speak more clearly, as his voice had gotten more broken. "I was reckless in thinking I could do it." He sobbed and pointed at Duck. "You were right!" He exclaimed. "This wouldn't be happening if Tech had gone with you instead of me!" His eyes were teary and hopeless. "It's all my fault." He glared at the infirmary, with a frown. "I could've protected her! If I had stayed, if I had been at her side!" He sobbed. "And now…" He looked away. "And now she is on a…comma…" He started to cry while covering his face with both hands. He turned towards the lab's door. "I'm so sorry." He left in a rush, leaving a brief red blur in the lab.

A long silence stayed between them, then Ace spoke to Tech. "Scan the ship, Doc. And make a log wit…" Innumerable screams started to be heard from the outside, Ace hurried towards the window followed by the rest and they all glared horrified at the scene they were contemplating, green, ongoing beams coming from the mothership towards the streets, transporting reptiles and getting them there. The scaly creatures provoked terror with their growls and looks, they broke into homes and buildings and took people hostage, same as in the streets, hurting the ones who tried to resist, screams of loss and desperation were heard with no cease. The beams of the mothership began to take back the reptiles who held hostages to the ship, and more reptiles were sent, and so on. That way, people slowly were being taken from the streets of Acmetropolis and then brought to the inside of the mothership. Ace didn't want to believe what his eyes were seeing, he clenched his fists fiercely and turned enraged, walking towards the table. He let out a yell of rage and hit the table with his fist, exhaling and inhaling repeatedly, glaring at the black, now cracked part of the table he had damaged. He sighed and breathed in, then began to think in a new plan. "Tech." Ace looked at him. "Ready the Wave Cannon." He glared at Lexi. "Quantal still needs to be saved."

"What happened there?" Duck asked.

"There's no time to explain." Ace looked back at Tech, waiting for his response.

"The cannon is good to go, boss." Tech said with a nod.

"Good." Ace pointed both at Duck and Tech. "You two will enter that ship and rescue the hostages." He turned to glance at Slam and the three members of A.R.M. "Slam, you and Rev will go out to fight those things and protect our people. Same as you three."

"Don't worry, Ace." Matt said. "We'll deal with them."

Anne nodded. "Just as we did before."

"Actually, I've never fought with space reptiles." Peyton commented. "But, there's always a first time."

Slam let out a growl, stating a doubt about Rev being in conditions of helping.

"Leave that to me." Ace walked away from them, heading to the lab's exit. He arrived at the lounge and noticed Rev wasn't there, so he walked towards Rev's room, knocking the door.

"Go away!" Rev said.

Ace sighed, then he opened the door nonetheless and entered the room, it was basically the same as the others' bedrooms but with lots of technological stuff on the floor like chipsets and unfinished projects, the large wooden desk that was in front of his bed was also full of these things. Rev was sitting at the edge of the bed, with his face over his hands, Ace approached him and sat down next to him. "Rev." He expressed.

"I told you to go away." Rev replied, with his face still covered.

"You know I won't." Ace said, putting a hand over his shoulder. "Rev, we need you."

Rev lifted his head, glancing frontwards. "That's not true. All I know to do is to mess things up." He stood thoughtful for a couple of seconds, then he glanced at his boss. "I lost her."

Ace shook his head. "That's not happening." He reassured. "She is in very good hands, I can't think of better ones."

"You've said it." Rev replied. "Things would be better if Tech had gone to the ship."

Ace thought for a moment. "Rev, don't you know why I sent you instead of Doc?" His words gained an attentive glance of Rev. "I sent you because you have a lot of potential to unleash. I gave you this chance to prove yourself."

"And I've just proven I'm useless." Rev responded.

Ace chuckled reassuringly. "Come on, man. You only made a mistake, that's all."

"A huge one." Rev said with a serious tone.

Ace nodded slightly, glaring briefly at his sides. "I won't object that. But that doesn't mean you won't get better with time." He looked directly at him. "Rev, this is a process I need you to complete, you understand? If you mess up, well…" He thought for a moment. "You have us, we'll be there for you, always, Rev. Just be there for us too, that's how this works."

Rev got thoughtful for a moment, thinking about Ace's words. He took his time to reflect on them then looked back at Ace. "I'll…I'll do my best." Rev said. "That's all I can offer."

Ace smirked. "And that's all we need."

After that, Ace and Rev returned to the lab. Ace got in the middle of his teammates to revise the plan and instruct them. "Okay, Rev, you'll go to the streets with Slam and protect the people from the reptiles. Matt, Anne and Peyton will accompany you." He looked at Tech and Duck. "Tech, you and Duck must enter the spaceship and rescue all of the hostages." He finally glanced at his girlfriend. "Lexi, you and I will go to Quantal and defeat those guys once and for all."

"I can't wait." Lexi said with confidence.

Ace nodded. "We're good to go, then." He briefly looked at each one of his comrades. "A whole planet depends on you, again. This is why we are here, for our people. This is why we returned! For them, Loonatics!" He glared at Matt and his team. "They are also your responsibility, your duty." He nodded at them. "I know this city can count on you too."

After Ace's speech, Slam and Rev stood in front of one of the windows at the lounge, Ace opened the window for them with the press of a button that was just next to the kitchen, attached to a wall. The glass slid upwards and with that, Rev and Slam were ready to leave. "Don't let those things take any civilians with them. Don't permit it." Ace commanded.

Slam growled, accepting Ace's command. Rev did so with a nod. Before they could leave, Duck arrived.

"Wait." Duck said hesitantly, approaching Rev. "I…I'm sorry man, for wh…"

"No." Rev placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did took the worst part of the discussion so I'm the one who has to apologize." He smirked. "You know when I punched y…"

"Yes, don't remind me of that." Duck rubbed his beak. "But…" He sighed. "I mean, we're good?"

Rev nodded. "Of course." He extended his hand and Duck shook it.

Slam growled at Rev with impatience, pointing at the outside.

"Okay, calm down." Rev told Slam. He gave Duck a glare of renewed friendship and activated his jetpack followed by Slam and both left the HQ. Duck nodded at knowing he had put things right, having made a huge effort to do so.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday." Ace had seen the moment as he rested against a nearby wall. He then began to head back to the lab. "I'm glad you've found some humbleness in you." He told Duck.

"Yeah." Duck raised his gaze and put a hand on his chest. "That's me."

Ace chuckled a bit. "Maybe I spoke too soon."

After Ace had left with Lexi on the Wave Cannon, Tech was speaking with Matt and his comrades at the lab. "As your chopper is, well, gone for good…"

"Oh, I miss it so much." Peyton interrupted. "It was so cool."

"Worry do not, Peyton." Tech smirked. "You will take the Zoomatrixes, one of my greatest inventions." He said proudly.

"The Zoo-what?" Anne inquired.

Tech chuckled and began to head towards the exit. "Follow me."

Ace and Lexi were en route to Quantal, wearing their respective helmets. Ace was pushing the capsule shaped vehicle/weapon to the limits, focused on the target. Lexi then spoke to him hesitantly. "Ace, back on the ship..." She shook her head and turned her gaze away from him. "Forget it."

"What happened?" Ace briefly looked at her before looking back at the front. "Is anything wrong?"

Lexi sighed, remembering the great pain she caused to the reptile to make him speak. "I…" She breathed in and out. "I think I can't see the limits anymore."

Ace didn't understand her statement. "Limits?"

Lexi sighed again. "When the boys and I were making our way inside the ship, we got trouble with some reptiles. But we defeated them."

Ace nodded and smirked at her. "That's my girl." She just looked at him, her eyes asking him to let her continue, he just nodded slightly and refocused on the horizon. "Sorry."

"We needed information." Lexi continued. "And I…" She was afraid of what her boyfriend would think or say. After gaining courage, she finally told him, with a sigh of shame. "I tortured him." She softened the tone of her voice and kept her gaze away from his.

Ace wasn't sure of how to respond. "Oh…" He did his best to reply. "That is…serious." He looked at her, who had her head lowered and her gaze lost. "To be honest, I also did something terrible." His words made her to look at him. "When we were chasing those guys, we entered a tunnel." Ace constantly switched his attention between Lexi and the vehicle's frontal window. "I really wanted to get them. Nothing mattered more to me in that moment. I didn't care, not a single bit, Lexi."

"Care for what?" Lexi inquired.

"For the people." Ace answered. "I saw them as…" He sighed and shook his head. "Collateral damage." He glared down. "The drivers at the tunnel." He explained. "I attacked, Tech tried to stop me but I didn't listen. Many people got hurt because of me." Ace moved the steering wheel rightwards. "Their lives were at risk….and I was that risk, Lexi."

Lexi remained silent, thinking about what Ace had told her. She exhaled, hopeless, with her sight on the vehicle's black floor. "What happened to us?"

Ace looked at her. "There's something broken inside of us." He said. "But, I think we can fix it."

Lexi sighed. "I don't know, Ace." She responded. "Maybe is part of this life, of being heroes."

"Remember that saying? Desperate times…" Ace waited for her to complete the saying.

"…call for desperate measures." Lexi completed.

Ace nodded. "Well…" He looked at the front, with a straight, convinced face. "That's a trap." Lexi raised an eyebrow, he reaffirmed his statement with a subtle smirk, hopeful and contemplative. "People think heroes can do whatever they want, with who they want." Ace said. "Powerful, untouched by the law." He let out a small chuckle. "I've heard that in many discussion programs." Ace accelerated a bit more. "Maybe it has some truth…but not all." He said. "We also have a great burden to carry, one that never lightens up." He looked at her. "To be their example, their steps to take, you know?" He smirked.

Lexi stood silent, she then reached for the steering wheel and put her hand over his. "Do you think we can be that for them?"

Ace nodded and looked back at the front, already spotting the city of Quantal. "That is the mission." He said. "It's always been."


	47. Episode 47: Cataclysm (part 11)

Loonatics: United

Episode 47: Cataclysm (part 11)

Matt, Anne and Peyton were in the HQ's hangar, mounted over the Zoomatrixes, Matt was using Tech's while Anne had chosen Lexi's and Peyton was over Duck's vehicle. They turned them on and gasped by the abrupt hover of the vehicles and the sounds of the motors. Matt held the steering wheel tightly. "Just a question…are these safe?"

"Don't ask, just ride." Duck replied, then he glanced at Peyton, who looked confident over the Zoomatrix. "And don't leave any scratches!" He warned with a straight face.

Peyton let out a brief, arrogant chuckle. "You can bet I'll handle it just fine." She twisted the throttle and made the vehicle to sound stronger.

Tech nodded. "Alright, then. Go join Slam and Rev. If anything goes wrong, contact Ace, okay?"

"Don't worry, Tech." Anne said. "Those reptiles don't know what awaits them." She smirked confidently and put on her helmet, same as Peyton and Matt. The first one to accelerate and exit the hangar through the open gate was Peyton. Matt and Anne exited from there just after her.

Tech sighed and activated his jetpack. "It's our turn, Duck." He hovered briefly over the hangar's floor and then flew quickly towards the exit, leaving the tower in no time.

Duck grunted and also activated his jetpack. "He didn't wait for my sarcastic comment." He headed directly to the hangar's exit, following the trace of smoke Tech had left.

Slam growled beastly while approaching the lasers that came from the mothership, punching, hitting and kicking the reptiles that just got on the street, neutralizing them before they could even try to exit the green, transportation lasers. Rev ran between the reptiles and the citizens, punching the hordes of scaly creatures that were closer to the people and the ones who got on his way, he glared to the sides repeatedly in search for menaced groups, finding them everywhere and therefore approaching them with his super speed and attacking the reptiles with quick punches and kicks, which came as slow motion movements, he then ran towards the sidewalk and stopped using his power, glancing at the groups he had saved and the reptiles falling unconscious before them. He chuckled and smirked proudly then received a transmission. "Rev here."

"Rev, where are you?" Matt asked from the other side of the line.

"Me or Me and Slam? Both?" Rev asked. "We are on the same area but not in the exact same spot that's physically impossible two objects can't b…"

"Forget it, I'm seeing you right now, hold on." Matt said then cut the communication. Rev and Slam were fighting just on the streets next to the tower, so Matt and his team didn't delay to find them.

Rev looked at the three hovering vehicles flying from the heights towards the battle. "He said hold on as if we were in trouble or something." He raised his shoulders and used his super speed quickly to punch a pair of reptiles that tried to attack him from behind and fell to the ground by his fast reaction. "Courtesy I guess." He said to himself and kept running among the people and the alien reptiles, feeling confident about his abilities.

Tech and Duck flew fast towards the colossal mothership. "I think I'm getting dizzy!" Duck said.

"Don't start, Duck." Tech responded. "We've flown even higher than this."

"I know but..." Duck's eyes widened. "Wow it's a really big ship!" He looked at the mothership with astonishment as it got slowly closer to them. "It looked far smaller from the lab, and from the jet! And from the inside! I could even pretend I was holding it with my hand!"

"Duck, keep flying." Tech warned.

"Oh, now I can't make jokes?" Duck inquired with a subtle frown and his eyebrow raised.

"Was that a joke?" Tech responded, glaring at him with a subtle smirk of mockery.

Duck made up a laugh. "So funny, Tech." He replied. "And I won't answer that."

"But you are right, anyway." Tech said. "It's a huge ship, indeed." His voice had a bit of worry.

"So…what will we do, again?" Duck asked. "And by that I mean, what will you do?"

Tech thought for a moment while still contemplating the menacing looks of the ship, its pitch dark surface and its golden designs. "For now…" He let out a sigh. "I'm not sure." He answered.

Meanwhile at Quantal, Ace was flying between the aesthetically similar, blue and white buildings with the Wave Cannon, evading Magnus' constant attacks, he was chasing them while throwing purple energy projectiles at them, which collided with the buildings and destroyed the affected areas of them. "I'm glad my evasive skills are still fresh!" He dodged an attack with an upwards movement, he then returned the ship to a forward position.

Lexi got her arm a bit hit by Ace's abrupt maneuver, gasping slightly. "They never were." Tech had given her a bracelet.

"Thanks for the support." Ace lowered the steering wheel and with that the Wave Cannon went fully vertical, flying towards the already dark, star filled sky, he then turned a bit backwards to see if Magnus was still after them and kept accelerating as he thought they had lost him.

"Ace, what are you doing?!" Lexi held tightly from the vehicle's ceiling and the door at her right.

"Wait." Ace turned off the vehicle briefly, waiting for it to aim at the surface, then when the cannon pointed at the city of Quantal he turned on the vehicle again and accelerated downwards towards the city.

"Ace!" Lexi had eyes of fright, and there was some anger in her voice.

Ace couldn't help it but to laugh a bit, trying to hide his chuckles with no success. "What?" He said between chuckles.

"Ace I'm s…" Lexi gasped by the sudden hit that impacted on the vehicle, on the side where she was.

Ace gasped. "Are you okay?!" He looked at her then at the window, stabilizing the vehicle and seeing Magnus laughing while the palm of his hand burned in a purple fire.

Lexi sighed then glared at Magnus with eyes of fury. She began to shoot her brain blast inside the helmet and the cannon started to charge. Ace held the steering wheel tightly, aiming at Magnus. "Shoot now! Ace!" Lexi exclaimed, making Ace to press the fire button of the steering wheel and with that shooting the pink charge at Magnus, who evaded the attack with a quick hover upwards, then he lowered himself down to his previous spot and laughed again.

"Dang it!" Ace hit the vehicle with frustration. He moved the steering wheel all the way rightwards and turned to the opposite way, flying near the tallest buildings' rooftops.

"Ace." Lexi turned a bit and saw Magnus flying rapidly behind them, then she looked at him. "We have to chase him not the other way!" Lexi argued.

"Lexi…" Ace breathed in, then exhaled. "Just, trust me, okay?"

Lexi looked at his eyes with hesitation, then crossed her arms and looked at the front. "You know I do." She began to shoot her brain blast into the helmet. "But I'm taking precautions."

Ace nodded. "I'm fine with that." He accelerated and the castle over the mountain got in his sight. Magnus followed them closely, forming an energy sphere over the palm of his hand, raised and ready to throw.

"Uhm..." Lexi glared terrified at Magnus' white eyes. "I'd like to know what your plan is."

"I'm leading him to the castle." Ace lowered the steering wheel, making the Wave Cannon to fly upwards, as they had reached the middle of the mountain. "That's how we'll beat them with one strike."

"Are you sure about that?" Lexi inquired.

"No". Ace answered and braked in front of the castle, getting the vehicle horizontal again, then he went in reverse and moved the vehicle backwards, then maneuvered with the steering wheel to move the vehicle to the right. For one second he and Lexi just saw the night sky ahead, but then Magnus appeared, floating from above, then stopped hovering right in front of them.

"The charge is ready." Lexi said.

"I know." Ace pushed the pedal and the vehicle moved quickly backwards and got over the castle's rooftop, then Ace went back to drive mode and with several turns began to hover all around the building. Magnus was ready to attack and followed them closely but found it difficult to get a clear shot.

"Ace!" Lexi looked up a bit at the vehicle's ceiling. "What ar…!" She sighed.

"Hold on." Ace replied and then braked next to a column attached to the castle's frontside, he looked a bit upwards and saw Magnus flying above, a second near to spotting them again, he pressed the button and shot the charge, which approached Magnus rapidly, but Magnus reacted and used the sphere he had on his hand to shield himself, the impact of the cannon's charge on Magnus' generated a strong expansive wave, purple and pink colored, Magnus got hit directly by it and flew all the way towards a column on the other side of the roof, hitting it strongly and destroying it, the pieces of the broken, tall column destroyed a great part of the roof, so Magnus fell down into the castle and landed heavily on the floor.

Simultaneously to that event, the expansive wave hit the Wave Cannon violently and made it to impact on the castle and make a huge hole on the diagonal part of the facade's roof, so that way Ace and Lexi got in the castle inside the vehicle, entering through the hole, the vehicle smashed the floor a couple of times, then stopped bumping a few meters in front of Magnus, while a huge piece of concrete fell from the hole that the Wave Cannon had made on the ceiling, Heather was below that area as she had gone there when hearing the battle on the outside. The huge, white and blue piece of concrete fell right over her legs, she let out a scream of insufferable pain and began to yell more and more, trying to get her legs out, with null results.

"Heather!" Quentin stood up from his throne, totally ignoring the entrance of Magnus and his adversaries, rushing towards her with gasps of serious worry.

Ace gasped and for a moment saw everything blurry, he blinked a couple of times then slowly began to go back to his senses. He looked at Lexi, who was also recovering from the hits. "Lexi." Ace looked at the front and saw Magnus standing up, barely. "Charge it up." He grasped the steering wheel. Lexi shook her head a bit, in order to focus. She obeyed Ace's command and began to shoot her power inside the helmet. Ace rubbed the button cautiously while watching over Magnus, who was already over his feet. "Lexi." He noticed the charge wasn't ready yet. "Come on!" His voice sounded tired as the impact of the vehicle was strong.

Lexi made an effort to shoot a stronger attack. "I'm doing what I can!" She gasped.

Ace couldn't wait and pressed the button, a small charge exited from the tip of the vehicle, Magnus was still stunned and didn't have the chance to react, the small, yet powerful shot hit him right on the chest, sending him towards the wall at the bottom of the castle, far from the thrones, he smashed badly on it and then fell to the ground, letting out a scream. Ace breathed in and out a couple of times, determined, eager to end the battle. "Again!"

Lexi charged her brain blast then after a yell of effort started to shoot it again. Ace waited a bit more for the charge to form and when feeling confident, he pressed the button and a now bigger charge went towards Magnus, hitting him again while he tried to stand up, he let out another scream and hit the wall again, then the floor. The black, gooey substance that Mourn was didn't take the hit well and abandoned Magnus, leaving him unconscious and back to normal on the ground while the substance trembled violently over the floor next to him, like a gooey pond. Ace took off his helmet and opened the vehicle's door and exited from it, then ran fast towards the substance. Lexi raised an eyebrow and also went out of the vehicle, taking off her helmet. "Ace!" She heard Quentin's desperate voice, she turned and saw him trying to move the concrete over his girlfriend, with no success at all. She stayed there, doubtful, then Quentin looked at her.

"Help!" Quentin exclaimed with no hesitation, he then started to cry while keeping trying. "Please!" Lexi believed Quentin's desperate emotions, so she rushed towards him and Heather.

Ace approached Magnus and Mourn, the dark substance sensed him and slowly started to move towards him, Ace readied his laser vision and then started to shoot it at Mourn, which seemed to be absorbing the attack, he didn't stop shooting, he had his glare locked on Mourn, it began to make melting sounds and its composition started to turn red, it shook more violently and even gave small jumps over the floor, sliding towards Ace, trying hard to approach him and make him its host, but Mourn couldn't bare the heat anymore and it exploded into hundreds of tiny pieces of goo that splatted over the floor and the walls. A bit of black goo reached Ace's face. He sighed repeatedly while looking at the rests of Mourn, then he cleaned the goo off his face. "Try to do something now." Ace concluded, then hurried towards Adam, who was still shaking and groaning inside the cell of glitch. He started to weaken the cell with his power, he shot at the bars for a couple of seconds then stopped shooting, he then jumped towards the cell and with a kick destroyed its bars into several pieces as the heat of his laser vision had weakened them enough. He approached Adam and stood before him, he noticed his shakes were decreasing, until he didn't tremble at all. He slowly opened his eyes and after a few blinks he recognized Ace, who smirked at him and crouched then helped him to get into his feet. "Are you okay?"

Adam sighed, looking at his surroundings then glaring back at Ace. "I…I think so."

"Ace!" Lexi exclaimed, as Quentin and her were having trouble in lifting the concrete, he then headed there quickly and helped them lift it, with a gasp of effort he used all his strength to get the concrete away from her legs. With Ace's help they managed to fully lift the piece of concrete then immediately dropped it over the floor.

Heather groaned while looking at her hurt, damaged legs, sighing desperately. "It…" She looked at Quentin. "It hurts a lot…" She let out a cry.

Quentin knelt down next to her. "You'll be alright." He said between sobs. "You'll be fine."

Ace tried to approach her while offering her a hand, but she hit his hand with hers, refusing the help. "I'll kill you!" She exclaimed with a broken voice and tried to stand up, and with a scream of pain she glared at her legs while trying to move them, uselessly. She hyperventilated by the anxiousness she felt and looked at Quentin with desperation. Quentin glared back and saw Magnus laying over the floor on the other side of the castle, noticing Mourn had been destroyed, he then glared back at his girlfriend, who started to close her eyes, he reached for her ear and took the earring from it, he opened his fist and glared at the device for a moment, then with tears he clenched it strongly and broke the earring, then he just dropped the device on the floor.

"Wha…" Heather barely managed to see what Quentin had done, she looked at him with confusion. "What are y… doing?" She closed her eyes.

Quentin had a lump in his throat. "This was a mistake." He cried. "My mistake." He looked at Ace. "Can you help her?" Tears never stopped running across his face. "I don't want to loose her." He lowered his head and kept crying.

Ace felt compassion for him and hesitantly nodded at his request. "Don't worry." He said. "We'll take her to the lab."

Quentin glared back at him with grateful eyes, he then carried Heather on his arms and approached Ace. "Everything will be fine." He kissed her forehead, then handed her to Ace, who turned and walked hurriedly towards the Wave Cannon, then he got in the vehicle after carefully laying Heather on the copilot seat. He closed the vehicle's doors and hovered over the floor then headed to the hole on the ceiling.

Ace stopped accelerating for a moment and looked at Lexi from above through the cannon's window. "I'll see you at the HQ!" He said then finally left the place.

Lexi went to the aperture where the castle's principal door was before getting destroyed, exiting the castle and activating her jetpack. Before trying to leave, she glanced back at Quentin, who had his gaze lost on the floor, rubbing his arm with anxiety. She looked at him for about a minute, then she decided to take him with her, approaching him while hovering over the floor, entering the castle again, offering him her hand. He looked at her with hesitation, then he slowly took her hand. She smirked at him and embraced him, then exited the castle again, now holding Quentin.

They finally left Quantal en route to the HQ.


	48. Episode 48: Cataclysm (part 12)

Loonatics: United

Episode 48: Cataclysm (part 12)

Tech and Duck hovered under the mothership, exploring and seeking for an entrance, only finding closed ports and tiny vents. Duck sighed and approached Tech. "I hope I don't take us to the fuel chambers or something worse." He took a deep breath and put a hand over Tech's shoulder, then he teleported them to the ship's inside. They appeared in one of the innumerable ship's hallways, dark, with green lighting. "Hey, not b..." He gasped when numerous groups of reptiles covered the hallway's both sides, leaving them cornered. "Oh, I spoke too fast, that's commonly Rev's job."

Tech adopted a combat position, followed by Duck, Tech facing the ones they had at the front and Duck turning to deal with the ones at the other side. "Looking for a fight? Scalies?" Tech readied his magnetic powers. "You got it!"

"Wow, so heroi..." Duck was interrupted.

"Shut up and fight, Duck!" Tech began to control a pair of reptiles' golden armors, while Duck started to form a big orb with his hands put together.

Matt ran over the reptiles he encountered in his way with the zoomatrix, hitting several hordes of them with the vehicle's front and sides and managing to neutralize them. Anne and Peyton imitated him, so the three managed to make a way towards their comrades while defeating the enemies at the same time. They braked right in front of Rev and Slam and got off the zoomatrixes, taking off their helmets and leaving the three vehicles floating over the ground.

Slam greeted them with a growl, then he knocked out two reptiles with a single fist movement.

Rev rapidly stood before them after a quick rush. "You could've gotten here earlier not that I'm trying to be mean or something but we would've appreciate it."

"Well." Anne glared at the three hostile reptiles that were hurrying towards them. She got in combat position. "We are here now." She backed her arm then rapidly punched the reptile's snout, the reptile groaned and let out a scream of rage, he juggled with his spear and tried to puncture her, but she blocked the attack with her hand and then grabbed the spear, jumping to the ground while still holding it and therefore bringing the reptile down, she stood up and kicked his head, leaving him unconscious.

Matt fought with another reptile, who constantly threw punches at him, bringing Matt to a nearby wall, Matt used that to his advantage and placed his arms and hands over the wall and used it to impulse his legs quickly, hitting the reptile's face with his feet. The reptile groaned while rubbing his snout, then Matt jumped and tackled him, then began to kneel his face while they were both over the ground.

Peyton was just backing away from the reptile that threw attacks at her with his spear, she was barely evading the fast movements of the golden weapon, frightened, wanting to defend herself, she then finally got the courage to briefly hold the spear and move it to the side, she then threw a weak slap at the reptile, who let out a slight groan and looked at her with angry eyes. "Uhm, sorry?" Peyton expressed, the reptile punched her fiercely while growling, she gasped when painfully laying over the ground, groaning and only thinking about the pain, then she opened her eyes and glared at the reptile raising his spear right over her, she closed her eyes in wait for the end, but then she heard a familiar, monstrous growl. Peyton opened her eyes again and saw Slam standing between them, who snatched the spear from the reptile's hands and broke it in half with his knee then dropped the rests of the weapon and grasped the reptile's neck, lifting him from the ground. The reptile coughed and glanced at Slam with fright, Slam growled at him and then threw him with strength, sending him to a wall of a building a couple of blocks away from there. The screaming reptile broke the wall and left a hole on it, entering the building, defeated and badly hurt.

Slam turned and looked at Peyton. He approached her and helped her to stand up. He crouched a bit and stroked her hurt face, growling softly and worriedly, telling her to stay away, that they got everything under control.

"But..." Peyton gasped when feeling pain on her cheek when Slam stroke it. "I can't, I have to help."

Slam got his hand away from her face, as he noticed it hurt her. He sighed and glanced at the zoomatrixes, then he glared back at her, looking at her with pleading eyes, growling again, asking her to leave, a reptile had approached him and wanted to attack him from behind, but Slam raised his arm and hit his snout, the reptile fell to the ground unconscious, Slam didn't even turned his gaze as his eyes were still locked on hers. He growled again, insisting, taking her hand gently.

Peyton could see the worry in his eyes, and even if she was good at hiding it, she was very afraid. She sighed and nodded at him. "I understand." She let go off his hand and began to walk towards the zoomatrix, but then she turned and hurried back towards him, approaching him and standing on the tip of her feet, and with the help of a small impulse, she kissed him briefly and stroked his cheek. "Please, be careful." She smiled at him then headed to the zoomatrix, getting on it and putting on her helmet, giving Slam one last glance before accelerating and leaving, heading to the HQ.

After a few minutes, Ace arrived at the HQ's hangar, the big gate let Lexi and Quentin enter after him and then closed automatically, generating a powerful echo in the place. He exited the Wave Cannon, leaving the doors open to take Heather out, carrying her carefully. He rushed towards the gates that led to the HQ and put his hand on the recognition pad, then they opened, he ran rapidly through the small corridor then reached the lounge, turning right to head to the lab. Ace entered the lab then went to the infirmary and stopped for a moment when remembering Rebecca was there, he growled and shook his head then entered the infirmary nonetheless, placing Heather on the floor next to the bed occupied by Rebecca, who was still unconscious. He opened the drawers with desperation, breathing in and out while glaring continuously at Heather, who had fainted. He threw several devices and medical equipment while trying to find something useful, but he didn't know much about medicine or health. He grunted and exited the lab, frustrated, he walked towards the table and placed his hands on it, with his gaze lost on its surface, breathing anxiously.

Quentin and Lexi arrived at the lab in a hurry. "Where is she?" Quentin inquired then noticed the infirmary at the bottom of the lab, rapidly rushing towards there and stopping right in front of the glass, putting his hand on it, looking at her with guilt and sorrow, laying hurt and unconscious on the floor. He turned and looked at Ace. "What will we do?" He waited for an answer, but Ace stood silent. "What will we do?!" He exclaimed, demanding a response, wanting to enter the infirmary and work on the issue by himself.

"I don't know!" Ace replied with a frown, then he glared back at the table while clenching his fists.

Lexi approached him and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. "Ace."

Ace let out a sigh of frustration. "Sorry, I..." He looked at her eyes, finding a bit of calm on them. He sighed again and glared at the front then looked at Quentin, who was still waiting for an answer to his pleads. Ace thought for a brief moment, for Quentin it felt like an eternity, he then activated his comm, getting it close to his snout. "Rev." Lexi raised an eyebrow, wondering why he would call him. "Rev, come to the HQ, it's an emergency."

"The HQ? But I'm on a spree right now we are actually doing an excellent job with the rep..." Rev was interrupted.

"It's not a question, Rev!" Ace exclaimed, then sighed and shook his head. "Just… Come, please."

Rev arrived quickly and with no delays, appearing right in front of them, with the red blur behind him fading slowly. "Alright what's so import..." He turned his head a bit when seeing Quentin standing next to the infirmary. "Uhm...guys..."

"It's Heather, she is badly hurt." Ace explained. "You are the only one who can save her."

Rev backed away a bit, confused and fearful at the same time. "What? No, Tech can I mean I j..."

"Tech is not here, Rev." Ace said. "You know of these things too, right?" He gestured at Quentin. "He needs your help."

Rev glared at Quentin again, who was also looking at him, worried, with deep concern on his gaze. Rev glanced down for a moment, then rapidly rushed towards the infirmary, entering it in a split of second, he gasped when seeing Heather's wounds. "Okay." He said to himself and exhaled then reached for the console that was next to Heather and started to activate the infirmary's systems, pressing the keys over the console with expertise. Some parts of the ceiling opened like small doors and robotic arms came out from them. Quentin entered the infirmary followed by Ace and Lexi.

"Will you save her?" Quentin inquired.

Rev remained attentive to the commands he was activating. "I can't assure you anything." He suddenly stopped typing, having made up a plan in his mind, he then looked at Quentin. "I need space." He also glared at his comrades, who understood and walked away from the infirmary, but Quentin refused to do so. Rev gave him an insistent look and with that made Quentin to exit the room hesitantly, then he left the lab along with the others. Rev glanced back at the console and lowered his head, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. "Anesthesia, true."

"Charging mecha-syringes with substance 81-A, Anesthesia." A female, robotic voice said.

Rev turned and started to breath deeply, looking at Heather. "You'll be fine." He nodded. "Everything will be fine." He said to himself.

Duck threw explosive orbs at the reptiles he confronted while Tech crushed them with their own armors, they were handling the battle well but Tech knew they were losing valuable time while fighting all those soldiers. "Think fast, Duck!" With the help of his magnetic abilities, he lifted the rest of the reptiles he was dealing with and threw them towards Duck, who reacted fast and started to throw orbs at them one by one, neutralizing them before they fell to the floor. He turned when dealing with all of the reptiles Tech had thrown at him, to deal with the ones he still had before him. "Okay, I'll let you choose, as you know what these can do." He juggled with a pair of orbs menacingly. "You leave us do our job and forget ab..." A reptile swung his spear at him and hit his face. Duck groaned and fell down, rubbing his beak. "Alright, option two then." He got into his feet and merged the two orbs, making a big one between his hands. He swung his arms towards them and let go the orb, which collided with the first line of reptiles and after brief screams of pain and defeat, the light that the exploding orb generated in the hallway faded and revealed all of the reptiles laying over the floor. Duck smirked cockingly and dusted off his hands, turning and running by Tech. "The zone is clear, let's keep going!" He said with arrogance.

"I hate to say this, but..." Tech followed him. "That was pretty impressive."

Duck chuckled. "Well, that's the result of greatness...and practice." Tech just shook his head and let out a subtle chuckle, then they kept running. "Wait, do we actually know where we are heading to? This place is a labyrinth." Duck inquired.

"We can't be too far of the control room" Tech replied. "Maybe there we'll find out where they are taking the hostages." He briefly looked at his comrade. "And disable the ship."

Matt, Anne and Slam were battling a numerous horde of reptiles, barely managing to fight them with their skills, Slam defeated them more easily with the help of his tornado, his twists sent each reptile he hit far from his spot, but it still wasn't enough to deal with all of them.

Matt gasped when dodging a spear attack from a reptile, he then grabbed the spear's end and moved it towards the golden armored soldier, hitting his side with his own weapon, the reptile groaned and Matt threw a powerful punch at his snout, winning the brawl with that final strike. He looked at his girlfriend. "This is useless..." He recovered some air. "...they just won't stop coming."

Slam stopped using his tornado and looked up at the ship after hearing Matt's statement. He noticed the black discs that the ship had attached to its bottom, which were the devices that shot the lasers that were bringing the reptiles to the surface. He pointed at them with a growl while looking at Anne.

Anne gasped. "Slam is right" She looked at Matt. "We just have to destroy those things, it's the only way to stop them from getting here."

"And how will we do that?" Matt inquired after defeating another reptile with a flying kick.

Anne scratched her chin and lowered her gaze a bit, thinking for a couple of seconds, then she looked at her boyfriend again. "The zoomatrixes, we can fly there to reach them and destroy them with explosives."

Slam growled, accepting her proposal and stating he would get the explosives from the HQ. He activated his jetpack and left in a hurry.

"Uhm, Anne." Matt approached her. "Are you sure about this?"

Anne raised her shoulders a bit. "What other choice do we have?"


	49. Episode 49: Cataclysm (part 13)

Loonatics: United

Episode 49: Cataclysm (part 13)

While running through the long, dark hallway of the mothership, Tech noticed that the green lights at the sides of the ceiling were glowing stronger at each step they took. "We must be close." Tech sighed repeatedly as he was starting to get fatigued.

"How are you so sure?" Duck inquired, also having noticed the increased brightness of the hallway's lights. "It could be a trap, you can't always have all the answers just because you're a gen..." They both stopped hurrying when reaching a black door with technological, glowing green patterns on it, Tech aimed his hand at the recognition pad, activating his magnetic powers and turning it a bit, he manipulated the strange device and with a final twist, he managed to open the doors, which slided upwards quickly and revealed the control room, a huge cockpit with several consoles with big buttons over them. Tech smirked and looked at Duck, who frowned a bit and returned him the glance. "Just...don't say anything."

They entered the place and approached the frontal console with careful steps. Tech studied it with intrigued glances. "Interesting, their design is based solely on three-dimensional icons."

Duck raised an eyebrow, also looking at the big, odd buttons. "How is it remotely interesting?" He sighed and looked at Tech, "You're boring me already, you know?"

Tech ignored Duck's statements, he reached for one of the buttons and touched it. "Not only that." He reached for another couple of buttons, which were bigger than his hands. "These are too big for them."

Duck rolled up his eyes and crossed his arms. "So?" All of a sudden, the room began to tremble, and from several holes on the ceiling, the walls and the floor, scaly tentacles with claws exited and tried to reach for the two Loonatics.

Tech gasped. "Look out!"

"Got it!" Duck readied an orb and threw it at the tentacle that was about to catch him, making it to back away a bit.

"It must be the leader!" Tech said.

Suddenly, inside a big, transparent tube in the middle of the control room, which was connected to the ceiling and the floor, the face of a reptile, with pointy features and a golden crown appeared in holographic form. "Indeed." The deep voice sounded loudly inside the control room. "Behold, Zer-Urax, king of the Seliptir! King of the planets! I shall take what is mine and I won't let you ruin the plans of my race!"

Tech put a straight face and raised his arms, pointing upwards. "Well, let me tell you something." He readied his powers. "You should look elsewhere..." He manipulated the control room and started to clench his fists, bending the holes from where the tentacles were exiting, crushing them and making Zer-Urax to growl and groan with pain. "This planet is taken! Snake!" He kept squeezing the alien's tentacles, then he glared at his comrade. "Duck, look for the hostages!"

"This ship is immense! How am I gonna do it alone?" Duck complained.

Tech gasped as Zer-Urax was putting a bit of resistance. "There's no time for questions! Just do it!"

"What do you want me to do? Teleport to every single spot of the ship until I find them?!" Duck asked.

"You know the answer to that!" Tech moved his hands a bit forward while focusing on the holes around the tentacles.

Duck sighed. "Why do I always have to do the boring stuff?" He disappeared after a brief orange light.

Tech put his hands closer one from the other and with a scream of effort he lowered his arms and managed to almost close the holes entirely with the bents he did with his ability, forcing the alien's tentacles in. He knew that would only keep the creature busy for a while so he rapidly activated his comm. "Boss, we need help up here."

"Got it, Doc." Ace replied. "What's the matter?"

"We've found the leader, I've sent you the location. Duck is looking for the hostages." Tech responded.

"I'm glad to hear good news already." Ace stated. "Hold on, Lexi and I will join you soon." With that, Ace ended the communication and stood up from the couch, as he was in the lounge along with Lexi, Quentin and Peyton. "Come on, Lexi, Tech needs our help." Lexi stood up then he glared at Peyton. "Keep us updated about Heather's state, okay?" Peyton nodded. Quentin, who was sitting next to her, lowered his gaze even more, ashamed, thinking about the troubles he had caused to them, not being able to fully believe they were actually helping him and his girlfriend. Ace nodded and turned, then approached the wall next to the kitchen and opened the windows with the press of a button, then he activated his jetpack and exited the HQ followed by Lexi, en route to the mothership.

In the infirmary, the monitor in front of Rev displayed several types of data like energy lectures and processed information, he continuously switched his gaze from the monitor to Heather, who was now wearing a hospital gown, comparing the information showed on screen and the assumptions he could come up with while glancing her and the robotic arms that were just above her, ready for Rev to give the order through a command. "It will work." He looked at her for a longer moment, nodding slightly. "It will work."

Ace and Lexi approached the ship with their jetpacks and started to look for entrances, searching in opposite directions, flying under its black and golden surface. They then met back, rather frustrated. "Nothing." Ace expressed.

Lexi sighed. "Same, there's no way in."

Ace thought for a moment, studying the ship's design, still unable to find any possible entrances. "Then we'll have to make one."

Lexi nodded and readied her power, aiming upwards at the ship, same as Ace. "Ready?" Lexi asked.

Ace waited a bit, focusing his power, then nodded. "Ready!"

"Couple blast!" Lexi shot at the ship's surface along with Ace, the rays of their powers met right in the middle of their way and created a powerful beam that collided with the ship for a couple of seconds, then its strength and heat made a hole on that area, after a brief noise of destruction. They entered the ship, getting in a long hallway, Ace pressed a button on his wrist, maintaining his direction as the beeps and rumbles of the device in the cloth of his suit told him they were approaching Tech's location.

"Get ready, Lexi." Ace said. "We are getting cl..." He dodged a metal scrap that came flying from the control room, as the doors were open. "Woah!" He exclaimed and entered the control room, as well as Lexi, flying more slowly and glaring at Tech fighting with Zer-Urax, unsettled by the green, scaly tentacles that tried to crush him. "Doc! What is that?!" Ace inquired.

Tech kept throwing the alien screens, buttons and other metallic stuff he could control with his magnetic powers. He glanced at his boss briefly then returned his gaze to the tentacles. "Less questions!" He squeezed a pair of tentacles with a wire, Zer-Urax let out a scream of pain. "More action!" Tech turned his hands a bit, twisting the cable even more.

Lexi smirked. "With pleasure." She lowered herself down and deactivated her jetpack then activated her brain blast and began to shoot at several tentacles, incinerating them, increasing the alien's suffering. Ace was doing the same with his laser vision, having also gotten his feet on the floor, kicking some upcoming tentacles in the process, while Tech still attacked the alien with scraps and wires.

Slam was in the HQ, inside the lab's warehouse looking for the explosives, he had arrived with such hurry that he didn't notice that Rev was in the infirmary helping Heather out. When approaching the rack meant for weaponry, Slam reached for a huge, heavy toolbox that was at the top of the rack, lowering it with almost no effort. He opened the plastic box and found what he was looking for, enough bombs for the job, gray and flat, with a red led over their surface. He growled with a smirk and closed the box, carrying it and rapidly exiting the warehouse. Before he could reach the lab's door, he heard a scream, the one of a woman, which came from the infirmary. He lowered the box with explosives and rushed towards there to see what was going on. He entered the infirmary and growled with confusion when seeing Heather sitting on the floor, with her back against the wall, crying with hopelessness. Rev was standing in front of her, turning when hearing Slam's growl.

"What are you doing here?" Rev raised an eyebrow.

Slam growled again, stating he heard a scream, then he gasped when noticing Heather's robotic legs, fully metallic, with an accurate anatomic design.

Rev looked back at Heather, with an empathetic look. "She is in shock. It'll be hard for her to get by."

Slam was still very confused, growling with intrigue.

"Some time alone will do good to her." Rev replied, then he gestured at the infirmary's exit, walking by Slam, who then followed him.

Right when Slam and Rev got out of the infirmary, Quentin entered, running, with his sight on the infirmary. "Love!" He exclaimed worriedly.

Peyton entered after him, also rushing as she chased him. "Wait! You can't go there!"

Rev rapidly got in Quentin's way, leaving a red trace behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "She is okay, Quentin. She is fine." He turned back a bit then looked back at Quentin, who had a bit of relief in his eyes after hearing Rev's statement. "She is well, but she needs to rest."

Quentin's breathing slowed down, but was still full of worry. "What happened? I heard her scream."

Rev sighed. "When she woke up and noticed her new legs, she got very scared. She needs time to recover."

Quentin let out a subtle gasp. "New legs?"

"I did everything I could to save them but the damage was too high." Rev explained. Quentin lowered his head, walking away from Rev and getting in front of the table at the center, resting his hands over it. He hit the table with his clenched fists and started to cry in a deep, guilty silence.

Slam glanced at Peyton and approached her, growling with a smirk, thanking her for staying. He crouched a bit and kissed her.

Peyton smiled back at him and took his hand, she then glared towards the infirmary and gasped softly. "Rev." She pointed at the infirmary, from where Heather was exiting from, struggling to walk with her new legs.

Rev got on her way quickly. "Heather, no, you need to recover!"

Heather growled and pushed him. "What have you done to me?!" She said with a broken voice.

"He saved you." Quentin walked towards them, approaching his girlfriend. "You should be thankful." He glared at Rev, then back at Heather. "I know I am."

Heather was still upset and unsettled, frowning, with tears on the corners of her eyes. "Just look at me." She looked at her robotic legs. "I'm no longer myself."

Quentin got closer to her and put both hands on her face, then he rested his forehead on hers. "You're, sweetheart." He kissed her and began to cry again and hugged her. "I thought I had lost you forever."

Heather hugged him back. "My life is done, Quentin. It's all over now. I won't move on." They both broke the hug slowly, then Heather tried to take a step forward, almost losing balance. "Look." She looked at his eyes. "It's so difficult, to take a… a single step..." She sobbed.

"I'll be at your side, at every step you take." Quentin took her hand, then a confirmation sound came from the infirmary.

Rev ran fast towards there and returned with them. "They're ready."

Heather looked at him. "Who are ready?"

Rev chuckled. "Your legs."

Heather got confused, then she tried to walk again, this time doing so normally, with no major struggle. The tears on her eyes ran down over her cheeks, she let out a soft, spontaneous chuckle of hope and happiness. She took a couple of steps towards Rev, raising her gaze to see him. "I'm sorry." She said. "I..." She blinked for a pair of seconds, letting more tears to fall. "Sorry for...getting mad with you." She glanced at him again, smirking. "Thank you."

"It's okay." Rev smirked back at her. He looked at the wall at the bottom of the lab, next to the warehouse, pointing towards there. "Now run."

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

"You heard me." Rev looked at her. "At my signal."

Heather looked at Quentin, with doubt, he just gave her a cheerful nod. She got in a ready position, then Rev snapped his fingers and she ran towards the wall, incredibly fast, seeing the lab in a blurry way for a split of second. She gasped with amazement, breathing in and out rapidly, then she looked around her and glared at the others, who were at the other side, finding out she had gotten there very quickly. Heather was shocked by the speed of her task, looking at Rev. "What was that?"

Rev crossed his arms and smirked cockingly. "I took the liberty to add some...tweaks to your new legs." He rushed towards the table and lifted a chair then threw it at her. "Think fast!"

Heather gasped and kicked the chair instinctively, destroying it into several pieces. She now was doubly amazed. "But..." She turned her gaze from the pieces of chair over the floor to Rev, who was smiling at the results of his invention. "Why?"

"Heather." Rev put a straight face. "They need you." He looked at the window. "People are suffering out there, now you have the chance to fight for them." He looked back at her. "The question is...whose side are you on now?"

Heather didn't respond, she walked towards the window and looked at the people on the street, suffering, screaming and being taken. She thought for a long moment, then she looked at Rev. "I will fight for them."

Slam received a transmission on his comm. "Slam! Where are those bombs?!" He gasped when remembering and rushed towards the box with bombs and grabbed it, exiting the lab hurriedly.

"Go, then." Rev told Heather.

"Alright." Heather replied with commitment. "But I'll need to get changed first." She glared at the hospital gown she was wearing.

Rev nodded. "Just hurry. We have a planet to save."


	50. Episode 50: Cataclysm (final part)

Loonatics United

Episode 50: Cataclysm (final part)

After Heather put on her bodysuit again, she and Rev hurried towards the lounge, Rev opened the windows and approached Heather, trying to hold her, but she backed away from him, confused. "Uhm, what are you doing?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh I have to take you with me as I have a jetpack and you clearly don't so there's literally no other way we could go to the battle in time or if you want you could use the elevator but that would be a waste of t..." Rev got interrupted by Heather's impatient sigh.

"Okay, it's fine." Heather found out Rev was right and also had gotten fed up with his words. Rev then held her and activated his jetpack, exiting from the lounge quickly. While flying over the darkened city by the night and the mothership's size, Heather looked at Rev. "Haven't anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"

Rev chuckled. "If by anyone you mean everybody, yeah."

Quentin and Peyton were in the lab, Quentin was standing next to the warehouse, with his back rested on a wall, while Peyton was sitting down over the central table, sharing an annoying silence, which Peyton decided to break. "And…are bad guys' dates same as the good guys'?" She immediately regretted what she asked. "Sorry, I just wanted conversation."

Quentin chuckled by her awkward comment. "Well, I don't think they're so different." He turned his gaze to the warehouse's inside, locking it on the weaponry rack.

Peyton raised an eyebrow. "What?" She inquired by seeing his static position.

"I…" Quentin looked at her. "I'm done."

"So, are you leaving now or something?" Peyton asked.

Quentin shook his head. "I'm done with my past." He entered the warehouse with no more hesitation. "I'm done." He told to himself while passing by the several racks, heading to the one he was interested in, occasionally glancing at the other stuff the Loonatics had there.

Peyton hopped from the table and walked rapidly towards the warehouse, entering and following Quentin. "Hey, what are you plotting now?" Peyton whispered while getting next to him.

"I won't just stay here and do nothing." Quentin replied. "Will you?"

"No, I mean yes but I have no other choice." Peyton answered when they both stopped walking right in front of the weaponry rack. Quentin immediately put his hands over the pair of rifles that were among some other weapons, they were black and had transparent lines that showed the clear liquid on it's inside, the lines led to a compartment that kept the transparent substance. They were the Gluco-Gel 9000 rifles.

"These look neat." Quentin took a rifle and handed the other to Peyton, then charged it, pointing at a flower pot that was in a corner of the lab. "Don't you think?"

"Quentin, put that back there or we'll have serious trouble." Peyton scolded, but then she glared at her own rifle, putting her hand on the rifle's barrel.

Quentin waited a moment before finally pulling the trigger, shooting the transparent gel at the object, which when colliding with the flower pot, it turned into a transparent cube that got it trapped. He lowered his weapon and smirked cockingly, then gazed at Peyton. "So...what do you say?"

Peyton was impressed by the results of Quentin's test, she looked back at the rifle that she still held, then she charged it. Peyton hesitated a bit to respond but then she nodded at him. "Let's beat those monsters."

Slam landed right in front of Matt and Anne, who were waiting for him next to an alleyway. He approached Matt and handed him the box. "What took you so long?" Matt complained.

Slam growled at him menacingly.

"Alright, forget about it." Matt walked towards his zoomatrix and attached the box with bombs to the back of it then hopped on his vehicle and put on his helmet, as well as Anne, both of them accelerated while heading to the mothership. When getting below the ship, Matt braked along with his girlfriend and he got his vehicle closer to hers, he opened the box and took about a half of the bombs then put them inside the trunk of Anne's zoomatrix. He looked at her for a moment, then just gave her a nod, which she returned with certainty, they then turned and accelerated to opposite sides, each one heading to a distinct black disc, of the several that were continuously shooting the green transportation lasers. Matt stopped in front of the huge plate that could barely be seen because of the darkness of the night, but the green laser it was shooting helped him to distinguish it, he opened the box and took a bomb then carefully placed it on the disc's metallic surface, the red led of the bomb instantly started to blink, and the explosive device also made dim beeping sounds, indicating Matt it was ready. "Okay..." Matt murmured to himself, then he turned and went for another disc. Anne had also placed her first bomb successfully, immediately heading to the next one.

Back at the mothership's control room, Zer-Urax was getting angrier each time the three Loonatics managed to deal with him, he screamed terribly, almost hurting the heroes eyes and making the windows to tremble, more tentacles then came from the holes and kept trying to hit them, Ace barely managed to dodge one by crouching, Tech shielded himself with a scrap he controlled and put in front of him, blocking the tentacle's upcoming hit, Lexi jumped and with that avoided an attack but then another came from behind and hit her, making her to gasp and fall over one knee. They were getting tired, and Ace wasn't an exception, while still crouching. "We need reinforcements!" Ace told Tech then suddenly the three got hit by a massive tentacle right on their snouts, they groaned and smashed the console behind them strongly and laid over the ground while trying to recover. Ace gasped and activated his comm. "Duck..." He let out another gasp and stood up slowly, helping Lexi to do so, Tech managed to get into his feet on his own. "Slam, Rev..." He raised his gaze and looked at Zer-Urax's holographic face in the tube. "We need you. Please, enter the ship and follow the locat..." He got trapped by a tentacle which moved violently to the right side and then released him, making him to hit a wall with painful strength, he groaned and fell to the floor again, gasping, resisting the pain.

"Ace, I found the hostages." Duck replied, he was in a huge, pitch dark chamber, between hundreds of people. "Sorry, you'll have to wait, new ones just come at each second!" He deactivated his comm and lowered his arm. "Sorry." He said to himself then embraced a small group of people and teleported along with them, appearing over the rooftop of a building far enough from the conflict. "Please, stay here!" Duck instructed and then disappeared after a brief orange light, generating some gasps of amusement from the crowd he had just saved. He appeared again in the chamber, putting his hands over the shoulders of two persons. "Hey! Take your hands, everyone! Or you don't want to leave?!" The scared, unsettled people obeyed him then he teleported again, managing to free a bigger group.

Meanwhile, Rev and Heather were battling with more reptiles, Rev was punching them while running by them, bringing them down with his fists and his speed, while Heather kicked them with unmeasurable strength, dodging their spears and knocking them out with sudden flying kicks and quick movements. Rev stopped running in front of her when he managed to clear the area he was taking care of. "My team needs me." He informed.

Heather glanced at the new hordes that were coming. She then looked at Rev and gave him a nod. "I can manage."

Rev returned the gesture and activated his jetpack. He quickly approached the ship and entered through the hole that Ace and Lexi had made on its bottom, following the signals of his suit's device to get to Ace's location, the darkness of the hallway and the green lights of the ceiling's sides disappeared when he entered the control room, he found his comrades battling with the alien so he landed on the floor and deactivated his jetpack, turning his attention to the tentacles that covered the room and running fast towards the scaly extremities, leaving his signature red blur behind him while punching them. Ace smiled when noticing his friend arriving, then also spotted Slam entering the room, running and going for the tentacles he found on his way, punching them and twisting them while growling beastly, also using his tornado to back them away, making the alien to roar with pain and desperation. Ace got between Lexi and Tech, who were also glad that help had arrived. "Just in time." Ace stated then Duck appeared in front of them.

"There are no more hostages." Duck told Ace and turned to face Zer-Urax, adopting a battle position. "Now I just want to kick some scales, bud!"

Tech looked at Ace, readying his magnetic powers. "At your command, boss."

Ace glared at Lexi, then at Slam, who had gotten behind them with his tornado. He looked at the front again, then Rev got next to him on an instant, looking at the weakened tentacles regaining strength and the alien's face frowning with great menace at them. Ace gave the alien a daring, pervasive look. After a brief, dense silence, Ace readied his laser vision. "Loonatics...United!" The team then began to fight again with Zer-Urax, with determination, Slam recurrently approached the tentacles he spotted on several corners of the control room with his tornado and stepped on them while spinning, gravely damaging the odd extremities of the alien. Duck teleported from spot to spot to evade Zer-Urax's attacks, cooking orbs every time he reappeared on a different place, throwing them with no hesitation at the tentacles, which jiggled with each explosion. Rev threw quick, unavoidable kicks and punches at the tentacles while running across the room, lighting it with his red blur. Lexi and Ace were burning the tentacles with their 'couple blast', being this the attack that caused the alien more pain. Tech was closing the holes from where the tentacles were exiting from, this time with more strength, and at the same time, he plucked several pieces of metal from the consoles of the room and used them to hurt the alien's scaly tentacles.

On the meantime, Matt and Anne were putting the bombs on the last of the panels, and when the red lights of the devices blinked, they turned and with their zoomatrixes they drew away from the ship, getting next to a building, a safe distance from the explosion they were about to provoke. Matt opened the box again and took a small, circular remote that had the same colors of the bombs on its design. It had only one, red button. "Three...two...one..." Matt pressed the button and the bombs exploded all at the same time, the red, orange and yellow clouds of the massive explosions covered the ship's entire bottom, the green rays disappeared and no more reptiles were being transported, as the discs had been destroyed.

"No!" Zer-Urax yelled with desperation when knowing his troops wouldn't be able to reach the surface anymore and that his ship had suffered critical damages.

Ace was laying over the floor, along with the rest of the team. He gasped when effortfully getting over his knees. Duck rested his back on a wall while still laying among his comrades, then he looked at Ace with an eyebrow raised. "What was that?!" He rubbed his head.

Ace chuckled slightly then finally got into his feet, glancing at his teammates, who had also managed to stand up. "We're winning, Duck." He turned to face Zer-Urax again, looking at the alien with confidence. "We are winning."

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Matt celebrated the success of the task, hovering and looking at the slowly falling scraps of the ship behind the big clouds of smoke.

Anne let out a chuckle. "Alright." She glanced downwards then looked at her boyfriend. "There are more scalies to deal with, hon." She smirked at him and accelerated towards the street, followed by Matt.

Quentin and Peyton shot at the reptiles with the Gluco Gel 9000 rifles, managing to trap them one by one, inside transparent, gelatinous cubes, leaving the creatures unsettled, struggling uselessly to get out. Quentin laughed while shooting at more reptiles. "Now I know why they do it!" Peyton trapped a pair of reptiles with one shot, then she glared at him. She gasped when a reptile got dangerously close to her, but she reacted fast enough to pull the trigger and trap him inside a cube. "The excitement!" Quentin added, briefly looking at her, but still shooting his weapon. "It's...cool!"

Peyton ignored him but managed to spot the reptile that was about to puncture him with his spear, as Quentin had gotten distracted. "Look out!" She shot at the reptile and trapped him on the gluco gel charge, making the creature to fall and struggle over the ground, growling and complaining. Peyton glared at him cockingly, with the tip of her rifle pointing upwards. "Your welcome."

"Than..." Quentin raised his shoulders. "I had seen him already, so..."

Matt and Anne were fighting a big group of reptiles that surrounded them, keeping them away and defeating some of them temporarily, but then more joined the group and brought them both down, gasping and groaning when hitting the ground, and when the spears were raised, Heather arrived with a fast rush and started to punch and kick the reptiles, moving her leg across the ground under their feet and therefore making them to fall down, she then waited for them to try to stand up, and on the right moment, she crouched a bit and threw a long kick at their snouts, spinning over her firm foot, then she stood up completely, looking at the defeated reptiles over her shoulder, smirking by her prowess. She walked towards Matt and Anne and offered them her hands, they took them and she helped them to stand up. They all shared looks and nods of sympathy and gratefulness.

The Loonatics were managing to defeat Zer-Urax, having weakened his tentacles, the alien then decided to use his last resource, and from every hole, space and slot of the control room, on the consoles, the walls and the ceiling, a green, slimy acid began to water, melting the floor and the walls. The floor got so melted that the Loonatics had ran out of more floor to step on, so they fell with gasps and screams. Zer-Urax started to laugh mockingly, thinking he was victorious, but then, with their jetpacks, the Loonatics got in front of him again, each member looking at the alien's eyes with a smirk and an arrogant glare. The alien frowned and yelled, angry and humiliated. "I didn't contemplate that!"

Ace laughed. "That's why you don't mess with the Loonatics!" He readied his laser vision, Duck his orbs, Tech lifted his hands and activated his magnetic abilities, Slam thundered his fingers, Lexi activated her brain blast and Rev warmed up his legs quickly as he hovered with his jetpack.

"I must admit..." The alien's frown accentuated. "...that I underestimated you."

Ace began to shoot his laser vision at the tube that displayed Zer-Urax's holographic face. "I think is time to shut up, monster!"

"No! Y..!" The alien left the phrase unfinished as the tube exploded into a cloud of crystalline dust.

"It was that easy? Oh man th..." Duck was interrupted by the alien's returning voice.

"You senseless creatures! I'm part of this place! You may not see me, but I'm all over you!" Zer-Urax started to laugh with mockery and madness.

"I think you've just spilled the beans!" Ace chuckled and looked up then glared at Lexi, nodding at her, she understood the signal and aimed at the same spot Ace was aiming at, then they shot their powers, getting combined in the middle of their paths, creating a powerful sphere of energy that collided with the ceiling, making a brief explosion over it and therefore destroying that area, revealing a thick, green and scaly tissue that pulsated and protrude from the destroyed spot.

"Ugh, gross!" Duck expressed.

Tech controlled other parts of the ceiling with his powers and began to tear it apart, revealing more of Zer-Urax's body.

"Grosser!" Duck threw the orbs he had cooked at the slimy looking body, hitting it, the explosions and heat of the orbs burned and damaged the alien's weak skin. A scream of intense agony was then heard inside the room.

The reptiles were being defeated, Quentin and Peyton still shot at them with their rifles and Heather, Matt and Anne battled them hand to hand. The soldiers of The Eye had arrived and were also dealing with the monsters, shooting at them with their weapons and others hitting them with their trucks while the wolves on the back shot at more reptiles with the vehicles' turrets. Close to the area where Matt and Anne were fighting, Hill was shooting at the hordes of reptiles that tried to approach him, burning their armors with his laser rifle. He managed to control the situation for a while, but then more groups of reptiles surrounded him, leaving him in great disadvantage, the spears were everywhere he turned to, he shot all of the reptiles he could but it was impossible for him to avoid the spear that came from behind, which went through him, making the General to scream by the abrupt pain he felt, instinctively holding the side of the spear that exited from his chest, the reptile then pulled out the spear and left followed by the other golden armored soldiers.

Matt had dealt with a pair of reptiles when looking leftwards and noticing the general collapsing onto the ground. "General!" He gasped and ran fast towards him, punching the several reptiles that got on his way, enraged, neutralizing them with a single punch in their scaly snouts. He finally arrived to where Hill was laying, kneeling down next to him and moving him carefully to make him look upwards. "General..." Hill was hurt very badly, blood came out from his mouth. He glanced at Matt with a subtle smile. "Don't worry, everything will be okay...Sir."

"You've always been a good soldier." Hill coughed a couple of times. "But, you never were a good liar." He coughed again.

"Stay with me, General." Matt tried to carry him but that made Hill to cough more violently, so Matt decided not to do so.

"Boy, my time is..." Hill groaned. "Over." He glared at some of his men that were fighting with the reptiles at the distance then he looked back at Matt. "They'll need a new leader." He grasped his arm. "Lead them, fellow." He struggled to breathe. "Lead them." He looked at the night sky, slowly letting go Matt's arm. Hill finally let out his final sigh. Matt was shocked, confused and then devastated, the lump in his throat finally broke and he started to cry for his mentor, holding his hand, staying by his side.

Anne and Heather were fighting with more reptiles, coordinated with Quentin and Peyton as they trapped them with the Gluco Gel 9000 while the other two threw punches and kicks at the trapped soldiers.

Zer-Urax was being defeated, the Loonatics were attacking him at the same time, hovering before him with their jetpacks, Lexi burned him with her brain blast, Ace did the same with his laser vision, Duck's orbs bruised the alien's delicate skin, Tech's flying metallic scraps cut the odd cutaneous mass, Slam hit the green skin like punching bags and Rev flew across the room, throwing quick, blurry punches at the alien, who yelled and groaned with great pain. When noticing Zer-Urax getting less responsive to the attacks, Rev shut down his jetpack and stepped on a remaining piece of floor then jumped towards the ceiling using his super speed, holding from a pair of pipelines that were in front of the spot from where the transparent tube that previously displayed the alien's face came from, he noticed a black box connected to it with thin, golden wires, it was made of black crystal, he aimed at it with his fist and punched it, breaking it with almost no effort, green, glowing liquid started to come out from the broken box. Zer instantly stopped making any kind of noise and his body stopped beating. Rev had destroyed the alien's vital system, he cleaned off some of the substance that had reached his suit while hovering down with his jetpack. Ace approached him.

"Good job, Rev." Ace put a hand over his shoulder and looked at him. "That's exactly what I talked you about."

Rev smirked at him. "Thank you."

The ship started to tremble strongly. "Oh, now what?!" Duck exclaimed.

A monitor above one of the room's many consoles started to display a countdown. "We must've activated some kind of contingency system." Tech said.

"Which means?" Ace asked.

Tech looked at his boss. "The ship is a bomb." He looked at his surroundings. "We must get it out of here or the reptiles will win anyway."

"Can you pilot it, Doc?" Ace inquired.

"I'll try." Tech hovered towards the main console and tried to mess with its controls, pressing buttons and touching flat, capacitive surfaces. "I...I don't understand this engineering, it's too complicated."

Duck gasped and pointed at him. "It's the first time you don't know something!"

"Not the first time, actually." Tech gave him a subtle frown. "But certainly one of few."

"Guys, this is no time for discussions." Ace warned.

"And what are we gonna do now?" Lexi inquired.

Ace started to think, then he looked at Duck. "Can you teleport this ship to space?"

Duck's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?! Of course I can't this thing is just too big!"

"Duck!" Ace exclaimed then let out a brief sigh. "You are our only hope, man."

Duck raised an eyebrow. "Woah, now that is new."

Lexi grunted. "Are you gonna do it or not?"

Duck was hesitant, unsure of his abilities, but there was no other option left for Acmetropolis, and knew that well. He sighed and raised his shoulders. "Alright, I'll save the day." He approached a wall with the aid of his jetpack and placed both hands on it, he then began to use his powers. The rest of the team exited the ship through the great hole that used to be the control room's floor.

Ace kept talking to Duck though his comm. "You can do it." He said. "We trust you, Duck."

Duck struggled to teleport the immense ship. "Not a smart move."

"I know you can do this." Ace kept encouraging him. "I have no doubt about it."

Duck breathed in and out rapidly, starting to get frustrated. He pushed the wall with more strength, he started to feel the matter of the ship getting covered with his power, suddenly he began to feel pain, but he didn't stop, Duck let out a scream of great effort and managed to cover the entire ship, he thought about the outer space and on an instant he and the mothership were there, and without air to breathe he rapidly teleported himself back to Acmetropolis.

Ace and the rest of the Loonatics looked worried at the sky, amazed at what had just happened, he tried to communicate with his comrade. "Duck?" There was no response. "Duck, do you copy?!" The gigantic green explosion that occurred far away from the planet's atmosphere was heard and sighted by everyone, generating yells of astonishment and awe.

The worry persisted in the team, then Duck appeared in front of them, flying with celebration. "Yeah! Did you think that was the end of Danger Duck!"

"Yes, but maybe it was too good to be true." Lexi joked with a smirk.

Duck put a straight face and crossed his arms. "You're despicable."

The team started to hear the applauses below them, so they began to descend to the street. Ace landed followed by the rest, between grateful people, smiling at them, then he looked at Duck. "I knew you would pull that one off." He glanced at his other teammates, giving them the same look of confidence. "I knew all of you would."

Peyton suddenly arrived and hugged Slam then kissed him. Slam growled, stating the weapon she was holding seemed familiar.

Tech intervened. "It's because it's ours, Slam." He looked at Peyton quite upset.

Peyton chuckled nervously and scratched her nape. "Sorry." She tried to hand the Gluco Gel 9000 rifle to Tech.

Tech looked at her and the weapon for a moment, then sighed. "Well...keep it, Peyton." He said so hesitantly, subtly smiling at her. "You'll give it good use."

Quentin arrived, walking towards Tech. "Uhm, that applies to me too?" He lifted his weapon before him.

"Oh you...who gave you permission t..?" Tech sighed again and grunted slightly. "Whatever." He just walked away from them.

Matt was still kneeling next to Hill, Anne stood before them, with her gaze lowered, Heather was next to her, with a straight face. The Eye's soldiers stood around them, looking at their dead boss with sadness. Heather walked away from the scene, then Anne noticed she had left and looked at every corner around her, but she didn't find Heather. She then returned her gaze to the General.

Quentin was sitting on a bench, away from the great crowd, looking at his recently obtained weapon. "Hi." Heather said when finding him then she sat down by his side.

"Hi." Quentin replied.

Heather raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" She looked at her boyfriend with some worry. "We saved the day."

"I don't deserve to celebrate." Quentin placed a hand on her knee. "I ruined your life." There was a deep guilt on his eyes. "I'm not asking for forgiveness."

Heather took his hand and kissed him. "That's not necessary, Quentin. There is nothing to forgive."

Quentin hugged her. "I'm so...unsure, about everything, about the future." He broke the hug slowly. "What's next for us? I can't stand more of this pain and..." He sighed and lowered his head. "There will be more to come."

Heather smirked at him and placed a hand on his cheek, making him to look into her eyes. "Then don't expect it." She stroked his face. "Have faith." Quentin got thoughtful for a long moment, getting lost on the eyes of his loved one. He placed his hands on her shoulders, then kissed her.

A couple of hours later, outside of The Eye's base/stadium, Ace stood over a stage, built with huge storage boxes, weapon cases and other military equipment. He was wearing a black suit, same as his shirt and tie. The leader of the Loonatics was about to give a speech, the soldiers of The Eye, A.R.M., the A.H.P. and the rest of the Loonatics being the audience, all of them sitting down on rows of folding chairs, wearing black clothes. "Hill wasn't a common person." He tried to speak loudly as there wasn't a microphone. "He was brave, righteous and honest." He sighed. "We had our differences, but that never changed my thoughts on him. Back when the city was facing its worst moment, he still took action, to protect it from the forces of evil, he ignited a spark of fight in my team again, a fight against a great power. His bravery won't be forgotten, fear often strikes us in bad times, and in good times, but it will win only if we let it. Take the decision to overcome it and everything will be fine, that was something the General understood well." Ace glanced up. "Goodbye, General." He looked at the sitting crowd. "Goodbye, fellow."

Later that night, Rebecca started to wake up from her comma, when opening her eyes, she saw her boyfriend waiting outside of the infirmary. Rev then entered and with a gasp of happiness took her hand and kissed her. "What...what happened?" She slowly started to remember some of the events. "Did we win?"

Rev nodded at her. "We did." He put a hand on his chin and glanced away with his eyebrow raised. "Not without some problems here and there and I was very worried about you I really feared the wors..."

Rebecca interrupted him with a hug. "I'm here, hon. That's all that matters now."

Heather and Quentin sat over the rooftop of a tall building, looking at the star filled sky, holding each other's hands. "What a great view." Quentin opined. "It almost compensates the fear I felt when you carried me up here."

Heather chuckled. "You overreacted a bit too much, sweetheart."

"But it was so scary." Quentin argued.

Heather laughed softly. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do." Quentin rested his head on her shoulder, then she over his, they both kept glancing at the sky. He let out a sigh. "What will be of us? I had never felt this doubt." He embraced her. "I mean, how will our lives turn out after this?"

"Better." Heather embraced him too. "They'll be better, love."

Quentin smirked at her response, closing his eyes calmly. "Better."

Author's note: Thank you, reader, for always being there at every chapter, every episode of this saga, you are a wonderful blessing. Fifty episodes, I still remember the day when I started writing this story, almost two years ago, and I didn't know it was the beginning of such wonderful experience, the characters, the world and the fic itself have grown in a very satisfactory way. "Cataclysm" has ended, the first macroevent of Loonatics: United, I think it turned out very well, I hope you are happy with the results of many months of work, spent to give you a good, entertaining adventure :). The next arc will begin soon, so stay tuned for the next episode of "Loonatics: United"!

God bless you.

-Grant


	51. Episode 51: Toxicity

Loonatics: United

Episode 51: Toxicity

It was midnight, HarmNix Pharmaceutical had its factory at the center of Acmetropolis, it occupied several blocks, its outside was gray, made of metal and concrete, with rows of huge solar cells on the ceiling and glowing energy pipelines that connected them, which ignited a yellow light. On the inside, HarmNix had several stations, two hyenas were cleaning the bridge over the big, cylindrical containers that stored green, glowing chemicals, bubbling and throwing vapors. The two siblings mopped the bridge together, which was just a narrow, metallic grid that passed over the containers, dangerously close to the substance. They were not wearing any special protection, only plasticized, gray suits, which didn't help at all, and they knew that.

Dan whistled a song while mopping the stained metallic surface, occasionally soaking his mop in the bucket at his side. He then looked at his sister. "You're done with your side?"

Darcy sighed and glared at him, stopping her mopping. "These stains won't come out, there's that…" She lowered her head a bit to look more closely at the grid. "…sticky…something."

Dan chuckled. "Sticky something?"

Darcy giggled and shook her head. "Shut up."

Dan let out another brief, subtle laugh. "Maybe we need something stronger."

"But the box said anti-stain, I've already checked the warehouse, this is all we got." Darcy sighed and rested her hands on the mop's stick, laying her head on them. "Oh we're definitely not sleeping today."

"Like yesterday and the day before?" Dan said.

"Yeah…" Darcy said with a lazy voice.

"Did you check twice? The warehouse?" Dan asked.

Darcy sighed then yawned. "Why would I? It's not like different stuff will show up each time I check."

"But one always checks twice, sis." Dan stated. "That's quite a rule, well not like a rule but…I'll just check again."

"Oh, so you don't trust me?" Darcy joked.

Dan chuckled while walking to the opposite side. "Of course I do, why do you always have t..?" Dan gasped when his left foot slipped with the still wet surface, he fell but managed to hold from the bridge with his hand. "Darcy!" He looked down and glared at the bubbly, green substance below his feet.

"Dan!" Darcy hurried carefully to help his brother. She got over one knee and grabbed his arm then tried to lift him up but he was too heavy for her. She gasped by the effort she made.

Dan gasped with fear, constantly looking down. "Darcy, hurry!"

"I'm trying!" Darcy kept pulling her brother's arm, still being unable to lift him. She started to inhale and exhale with desperation, as she was also glancing at the hazardous chemicals that threatened her brother's life. She let out a gasp of frustration. "Dan, you are too heavy!" She began to get tired. "I…I can't…"

"Darcy, please!" Dan breathed in and out fearfully. "Please!" He tried to bring himself up, moving his legs desperately.

"I'm trying, Dan! Just stop moving o…" Darcy gasped when her right foot lost balance by the weight she was trying to lift, she screamed when Dan's weight brought her down, the two hyenas let out screams of fatal fear then they both fell in the green liquid.

Inside the tank, their screams couldn't be heard by the liquid they were floating in, they felt the substance entering through their fur and skin. Their suits merged with their bodies. Their faces showed pain, deep and unmeasurable. A green glow started to surround them, then a reaction made the tank to explode with them inside of it.

The substance spilled all over the station, exiting through the several openings that the tank now had. Dan and Darcy exited from one of them, brought to the floor by the flowing substance.

The two siblings laid there for several minutes, unconscious. The alarm was sounding, a noisy, long beep that repeated itself, the rotating emergency lights had turned on. Dan coughed, spitting a bit of substance, he then got over his knees and looked at his sister, noticing her suit had merged with her body, same as him. They looked like if they were wearing bodysuits, with cracked lines of intermittent glowing green over them. But that was not all, their fur was now green, and it glowed with the same tone. "What in the world?" He noticed she was still breathing and approached her. "Darcy?"

Darcy opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times. "Dan." She tried to stand up, her brother helped her to do so then they both got into their feet. "We…survived?" She gasped when seeing her brother's new appearance. "Dan, you're…"

"Green? Glowing?" Dan inquired. "Yeah, you too."

Darcy looked at herself, gasping when looking at her hands, green furred and glowing. Her voice broke when noticing her change. "Dan, what happened to us?"

Dan covered his face with both hands then shook them downwards with frustration. "I don't know!" He glared at her, seeing she was very frightened. "I don't know, sis." He gave her a hug. "But there's only one we can blame for this."

The automatic gate opened a few meters behind them, Dan broke the hug and looked over his shoulder, seeing the white trucks with HarmNix's logo painted on them. The three vehicles approached them, Dan covered his face with his arm as the truck's lights dazzled him. Several black armored guards with the company's icon on their uniform went down the vehicles. Gerald Nix, HarmNix's owner, was the last one to get down, he was a lion who wore a white suit and a green bow tie. He gasped when seeing the two hyenas, gesturing at the guards to stay away from them, walking towards the siblings. "Who are you? And what are you doing in my company?!"

"We work here!" Dan exclaimed.

Gerald raised an eyebrow. "I…I don't recognize you." He lifted his foot a bit, a few drops of the green substance fell from it, he then looked at them and the broken tank at the left. "What happened here?"

"We fell in the tank." Dan walked towards him, lifting his hand, showing its glow to him. "With no protection."

Gerald sighed. "And? Oh, now you sound like the syndicate, boy." He turned and gestured at the guards, who hurried towards the gate and pressed the panels next to it, then the gate closed.

Dan gasped. "What are you doing?"

The guards walked by Gerald, getting in front of the hyenas, taking out their guns and aiming at them. Darcy gasped and turned, but more guards had gotten behind them, leaving them cornered. She approached her brother and hugged him. "Dan, what are they gonna do?" She said with a broken voice.

"I can't let you go." Gerald sighed. "I'm sorry, the press must not know."

"You are a liar! You promised us safety! Insurance! And now you want to kill us just like that!" Dan exclaimed with rage, frowning at Gerald.

"Yes, just like that." Gerald put a straight face. "As I did all that was necessary to start this company, to make it the giant it is now. Just like that."

Dan was clenching his fists, his glow started to get brighter. "You can't do this!"

"At my signal, boys." Gerald said, the guards loaded their weapons.

"Dan…" Darcy closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.

Gerald waited a moment to give the order. "Fire!"

"No!" Dan exclaimed, right when the lasers came out from the weapons, a glowing green cloud of vapor came from him like an explosion, the strange phenomenon hit Gerald and his guards, their screams of death were heard briefly, they all fell to the ground, lifeless. Their bodies were steamy.

Dan had his eyes closed, he slowly opened them and then he gasped when seeing the dead guards and his boss. He looked at his sister, who still hugged him and trembled with fear. "Darcy."

Darcy opened her eyes hesitantly and glanced leftwards, her eyes widened when seeing the scene. "What?" She slowly broke the hug. "Dan, what happened?"

Dan looked at his hands. "I'm not sure." The glow on them got dimmer. "I think I did it." He glared back at the fallen men, chuckling a bit. "And maybe…" He looked at his sister. "You could do it too."

Darcy lifted her hand before herself, turning it while studying its glow. "But…how did y…" When aiming the palm of her hand frontwards, a green, glowing liquid came from it, which reached some machinery that was several meters ahead, the machines melted rapidly, generating dense, green colored fumes.

Dan gasped and looked at his sister with a smile. "Sis, you know what this means?"

"That we need to see a doctor?" Darcy inquired.

Dan chuckled and approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "No…we got powers." He lifted his hand and willingly made it to glow. "We have power now."

Darcy looked at the melted machinery. "Power."

Dan began to walk in circle, thinking, rubbing his chin. "This can't be all, sister." He stopped walking, nodding at his own thought. "We can make it bigger." He looked at Darcy. "Much bigger."

"I don't get you." Darcy raised an eyebrow.

Dan sighed. "Do you know for how long this company has abused of its workers?"

Darcy rolled up her eyes. "Don't tell me."

"Exactly." Dan said, chuckling and rubbing his hands, looking upwards. "I know how to end it."

"Oh, now I get you." Darcy made her hands to glow. "We can destroy the company."

Dan smirked and shook his head. "No, Darcy." He approached her. "Instead of destroying." He raised his hand and clenched it. "We can build. Share these powers with our comrades, and free them from their suffering once and for all."

Darcy raised an eyebrow. "Like, an army?"

"That sounds a bit…aggressive." Dan chuckled and glared away, thinking about her sister's comment, nodding at the idea. "But I quite like it."

"I think we got a little problem with that." Darcy stated. "How are we gonna do it?"

"We just need the right mind, the right hands, sister." Dan responded. "And I know where to find them."

Darcy smirked at him with a frown of commitment. "You mean, the employee list?"

Dan nodded. "You just hit the spot, sis." He started to walk away. "Come on, we must go to the archives."

In an annex building, on the second floor, a security guard, who was a middle aged dalmatian, rested against the door that led to the archive room, he wore the classic blue shirt, black pants uniform. His ear twitched when hearing quick steps at his right, he glared that way and gasped when seeing the green light illuminating the hallway's end, he placed his hand on the holster of his gun and blocked the way, standing with a daring stare. Dan and Darcy ran towards him.

"Hey you!" The guard took out his gun and aimed at them. "Stand back or I'll s…" Dan aimed his hand at the guard's chest, the acid he shot went through the guard, he didn't even had the chance to scream. The dalmatian fell down.

Dan chuckled. "…shoot?" He looked at his sister while reaching the door. "I bet that was what he wanted to say." He readied his hand and held the knob then he melted it, turning it into a green and black liquid. He gently opened the door by pushing it. "After you, sis."

Darcy entered the room, looking at the desks, racks, files and computers where all the archives of the company were stored. "I imagined it bigger."

Dan turned on the lights, revealing a big monitor at the room's bottom. "I guess that's the master system." He walked towards the computer and pressed the enter key, getting in the OS, sitting down on the swivel chair. "Okay." He said to himself, Darcy got behind him.

"I wonder what of all these files could be." Darcy said when her brother opened the folder of the drive.

"Alright, let's click 'Search' and…" Dan typed the word 'employee' on the search bar that showed up on the window. "Oh yeah." The 'Employee List' text file appeared on the results. He glanced at his sister. "Who's the best? Sis?"

Darcy chuckled. "Good job, Dan."

"Alright." Dan opened the file. "Hmm…let's see, uhm…" The employees' names were organized as a table with several categories, Dan scrolled sidewards and found the 'Scientists' category. "Oh, what do we have here? They're ranked." He thundered his fingers and pressed the 'Ranking' section, which made the names to switch from alphabetical order to the amount of points they had, in descending order. "Who's our number one?"

"Dan, why are you talking like that?" Darcy raised an eyebrow.

"It's fun." Dan replied. He scrolled back to the beginning of the list and found the scientist who had the highest rank. "She is the right one."

Darcy got a bit closer to the monitor to read the name more clearly. "Susan Sanders?"

"If there's anyone that could help us with this, it's her." Dan smirked and looked over the desktop, he found a digital notepad and started to type on it, copying the data of Susan's bio, including her address. "It's your lucky day, Ms. Sanders."


	52. Episode 52: Early Action

Loonatics: United

Episode 52: Early Action

Darkness surrounded him, silence was present, his fists were clenched and ready to strike, his ears twitched with the slightest noise, Ace Bunny waited for the enemy's response, which came as a sudden, rapid burst of lasers that exited from the drones' barrels, with a gasp he jumped and dodged several blasts then crouched and prevented himself to get hit on the head or his ears, he then fully laid down over his back, seeing the lasers passing in front of his eyes, he managed to spot the drones' dim, red lights, so he stood up and ran towards one of them, evading its continuous shooting, he jumped at it and held from its bottom, controlling it with his own weight, the hostile machine moved violently at every side to get Ace off itself, but he held tightly and brought the drone towards the others, letting it go and landing safely over one knee and with a hand placed on the dark glass of the floor, he looked upwards to see how his strategy had turned out, just in time to see the several explosions that the drones' collisions had provoked. The remains of the explosion started to pixelate and then vanished. The lights of the simulation room went on, revealing the black walls and the several projection systems it had all over the inside.

Ace smirked at the results of his test, breathing in and out with tiredness. He fully got into his feet and walked towards the automatic door that opened before him, exiting from the zone. He entered the general area of the HQ's training room, where Lexi was punching and kicking a punch bag that hung over a red mat, in an area designated for hand to hand combat, divided with thin glass walls. Ace walked towards the area and cautiously approached the punching bag, Lexi hadn't see him, so right when she punched the bag, he held it with both hands.

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "What?" She said softly and poked her head a bit, sighing when seeing her boyfriend smiling at her.

"Good morning." Ace let go the bag and kissed her.

Lexi chuckled. "It was good till' you showed up, you know?" She walked away a bit from him and stretched her arms. "I thought I needed some, uhm, activity to start my day."

"Then we think exactly the same." Ace approached her and hugged her, balancing a bit to annoy her. "Maybe you read my mind…" He kissed her cheek. "…with those ears of yours."

Lexi laughed. "I can't do that." He returned him the gesture. "But it would be very useful."

Ace chuckled. "And? How was your training, then?"

Lexi nodded. "Good, in general." She yawned and freed herself from Ace's hold. "I just need to learn more movements."

"Oh, skill updates? I like it." Ace said.

Lexi rolled up her eyes and let out a little chuckle. "You sound just like Tech." She began to walk towards the room's exit, followed by him. "And, how was yours?"

"Fine." Ace answered. "If one day we are attacked by flying, destructive robots, I'll be ready."

"They're not robots, their sophis…" Lexi was imitating Tech.

"…sophisticated aerodynamic machines." Ace finished the phrase along with her, both of them laughing after so. "The funny thing is that they aren't real."

The room's automatic door opened and let them exit the place. They walked by the lounge and saw Duck laying over the couch, watching TV and drinking from a one liter soda bottle. "Hi, Duck." Lexi said.

"What's up?" Duck replied. "Are you making breakfast?"

"Yeah, you want some?" Lexi inquired.

"I think the answer is in the question, girl." Duck replied, maintaining his attention on the TV.

Lexi shook her head, chuckling and rolling up her eyes. "Alright." She looked at him once again. "The magic word?"

"What are you talking ab..?" Duck sighed and looked at her with a subtle frown. "Please…"

"Enough." Lexi smirked at him and walked towards the kitchen along with Ace.

The two bunnies entered the kitchen, Lexi started to take out the kitchenware she needed from the drawers. "You know, you should look on the fridge first, to see if we actually got something." Ace said when sitting over the table.

Lexi sighed. "You're right." She approached the fridge and opened it, reaching for a drawer where they usually kept the cold meats. She lowered her head when only finding an empty package of sausages. She poked her head out of the fridge and looked over her shoulder. "Duck! You ate all of the sausages!"

"Don't blame me! I need protein!" Duck exclaimed from the lounge.

Lexi sighed, her ears briefly went down. "Okay. I'll order pizza." She closed the fridge's door and pressed her comm, activating the phone call function, dialing the restaurant's number.

"Pizza breakfast? I'm in." Ace hopped down from the table.

Lexi chuckled. "You got away from my cooking this time." She said while waiting for an answer.

"It's a shame." Ace approached her. "I like to see you cooking."

Lexi smirked. "Whatever." The call was finally answered.

"Gonzalez and Bros. What's your order?" A male voice said from the other side of the line.

"Oh, hi, it's Lexi Bunny. Just as always, uhm, seven orders o…" Lexi walked away from him to instruct the guy.

Slam entered the kitchen with his tornado, peeking at every corner, then he stood still and looked at Ace, growling at him, asking if there was still pizza left.

Ace laughed. "Don't fear, big guy. It´s on its way."

Slam punched the palm of his hand, stating he was ready for it.

Tech walked into the kitchen, yawning and approaching the bar at the bottom. "Just say that word and he'll be as awake as a shark." He took a coffee pill from the small black container and then grabbed his mug from the cupboard over the bar, dropping the pill on it. The coffee filled the mug entirely, steamy and ready to drink.

"Hey, Doc." Ace approached him. "I've just tested the game you put on the training room, it's pretty cool."

Tech took a sip from his coffee. "It's not a game, boss."

"Well it's fun, so…" Ace looked at Tech jokingly.

Tech sighed. "I won't object that." He took another sip. "I designed it, so…"

Rev was suddenly among them, having left his classic red trace behind him. "Well don't you forget I helped with the coding and the building and some of the modeling and the light physics were actually my id…"

Tech growled. "Okay, Rev." He walked towards the door that led to the lounge. "You helped a bit, I admit it." He exited the kitchen.

Lexi turned off her comm. "Five minutes or it's fr…" Her ears twitched and her eyes widened when hearing the doorbell, which sounded like a synthesizer. "Wow, that was fast." She exited the kitchen to get the delivery.

"Ah, so many memories." Rev said.

Lexi was taken to the low level by the elevator, she exited from it and walked through a brief corridor. The automatic principal door opened before her. A brown furred mouse with short black hair was standing on the first stair of the staircase, carrying the seven boxes of pizza. He was wearing a blue T-shirt and a pair of black jeans, along with white running shoes.

"That would b…" The mouse poked his head to see the client better, his eyes widened when finding out she was no other than Lexi Bunny. "Oh, uhm…" He let out a nervous laugh. "Hi, uhm…"

Lexi chuckled. "Fifty, right?" She knew he needed some help.

"Yes, fifty." The mouse was still amazed as it was the first time he was standing before someone considered famous.

"You got terminal?" Lexi asked, getting no response from the mouse, who was about the height of Duck. "Hey." She snapped her fingers in front of him.

The mouse shook his head slightly then blinked a couple of times. "Oh, sure." He carefully lowered the boxes on the floor and took out a gray device from one of his pockets. Lexi passed her comm over the device, which made a beeping sound and the green lights at its sides went on. "Alright…" The mouse set up the price and the payment was done. "Enjoy your pizza." He smirked at her shyly.

Lexi returned him the gesture. "Thank you very much." She crouched and carried the boxes. "You were pretty fast, you know?" She chuckled. "And I got a friend with super-speed."

The mouse chuckled and scratched his nape, looking away. "Well, uncle Ray says I was born for this…" He said. "I don't know."

Lexi noticed there was no vehicle on the street nor the sidewalk. "Uhm, sorry but, I think someone took your transport."

"Oh, don't worry." The mouse said. "I deliver by foot."

Lexi's eyes widened. "Sorry?"

"Yeah." The mouse said casually.

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "Impressive."

The mouse chuckled, rubbing his arm. "Not so much…"

Lexi sighed. "Well, thank you again, uhm…"

"Oh, it's Randy." The mouse said. "Randy González."

Lexi chuckled in a friendly manner. "Nice to meet you, Randy." She turned and entered the building.


	53. Episode 53: Upshot

Loonatics: United

Episode 53: Upshot

The team was reunited in the kitchen, eating the pizza Lexi had ordered. Ace, Lexi and Rev were having theirs at the table while Tech, Duck and Slam were standing among them, enjoying their slices. "I'm impressed, Slam." Tech said after munching the last bit of his slice. "You are already managing your portions, I'm proud of you."

Lexi chuckled. "He is right, big guy. It's the first time we end with a full box of pizza left."

Ace looked at Slam. "New diet, Slam?"

Slam growled while looking at the box that was over the bar, wanting to eat all of the pizza, even if he had already ate three complete boxes. He stated it was nothing, that he was just not that hungry.

Duck raised an eyebrow, looking at him jokingly. "Or…maybe he wants to stay in shape for his girl."

Lexi laughed a bit by Duck's comment. She finished eating her pizza and glared at Slam while cleaning her snout with a napkin. "Is that true, Slam?"

Slam looked at his comrades, not being able to hide the blush on his face.

Ace smirked and let out a subtle chuckle. "That explains it all." He laughed for a bit longer, the rest shared the same laughter.

Susan was about to leave her apartment, ready for work, wearing her lab coat. She gathered some folders and documents from the small table at the living room. Her ear twitched when hearing steps outside of the apartment. She glanced at the door for a moment and then, all of a sudden, the door was destroyed by a green, steamy acid, which reached the wall at the other side, Susan let out a scream of fear and dropped the files, resting against the bar with her hands grasping the edge.

A kick took down what was left of the door, Dan entered the apartment along with his sister. "Ms…" Dan looked at his sister, who mumbled at him. "…Sanders?" He looked back at Susan, raising an eyebrow.

Susan was trembling, glancing at them with fear. "Wh…who are you?"

Dan chuckled. "The important thing here is…" Dan walked towards her and placed his hand on her chin. "Who you are. Susan."

Susan's breathing was almost static. "What do you want?" Her voice was broken.

"Oh, easy." Dan put his hand on her shoulder. "We don't want to hurt you."

Darcy approached them, looking at Susan with a subtle smirk. "We need your help."

Susan still trembled, she delayed a bit to reply. "H…help with what?".

Dan chuckled briefly. "Patience, Susan." He raised his hand and made it glow dimly then covered her mouth all of a sudden, getting behind her, holding her while she struggled. Susan tried to scream the loudest she could, she couldn't get free from Dan's hold and not so long after that she fainted, Darcy held her arms to prevent her from falling. "You know?" Dan crouched a bit and carried Susan then looked at his sister. "I'm getting accustomed to these new tricks." He walked towards the exit followed by Darcy, both of them getting out of the apartment rapidly.

Tech was in the lab, sitting on the chair before the main computer, resting his feet over the console's edge, waiting for a call with his comm near his snout. He raised an eyebrow as the beeping sound of wait was lasting too long, he sighed and deactivated his comm, then stood up. "She must be busy."

Duck, Slam and Rev were watching TV at the lounge, each one laying on a different couch. Tech arrived and glanced at the sports show they were watching, resting his hands on the support of the couch were Duck was laying. "So…you guys wanna go out or something?"

"No." Duck replied, gesturing at the TV.

Tech sighed. "Okay." He kept watching the show, finding it remotely interesting. "Oh, I have some inventions I'd want to tes…"

Duck interrupted Tech with his yawn. "Tech." He placed both hands behind his nape. "Won't you just enjoy this?"

"What are you talking about?" Tech inquired.

"Well, this." Duck pointed at the TV. "Doing nothing, you know."

"Uhm, that doesn't make any sense." Tech responded.

Duck sighed. "Come on, just get comfortable and let the time pass." He glared at the ceiling and closed his eyes. "It's better than you think."

Tech thought for a moment, switching his glare from his comrades to the TV, then looked back at them. He just turned and headed towards his room.

Duck opened one eye and noticed Tech had left. "I thought he would never leave."

Tech was in his room, walking in circles, glaring at the walls and the drawers which shared the same aesthetic, dark gray with green details. He approached his desktop and sat down before it on the swivel chair, sighing and looking at the black ceiling, almost laying over the chair. He raised his arm and pressed a button, then Jack, who was laying on a corner, emitted a beeping sound and activated, hovering towards Tech and laying on his lap. "You know something, Jack?" Tech said.

Jack beeped with inquiry.

"I'm so fortunate." Tech responded, chuckling gently. "For many years I thought I was destined to be alone."

Jack emitted a beep.

"Well, of course I got you, Jack." Tech replied and let out a sigh, smirking, getting lost on the ceiling's darkness. "But I'm not talking about that."

Jack made another beeping noise of question.

"Since I remember, I've always had trouble with women." Tech responded. "I felt like an alien when talking to them." He added. "They thought I was, uhm, weird, you know?"

Jack emitted a beep of confirmation.

"Well, thanks for that." Tech said. "Still…" He sighed. "I was hopeful, Jack. To find that girl, that, well, weird girl. Smart, funny. I knew she was out there, somewhere." He smirked. "And I found her." He looked at Jack and petted him then glared at his side. "My Susan. I don't know what I would do if I loose her." He got thoughtful for a moment then raised his arm again, pressing the comm's phone button, calling her again. He waited a bit more this time, but also didn't get any response, sighing with frustration and turning off his comm again. "I just want to see her, Jack." He sighed and closed his eyes. "That's all I want."


	54. Episode 54: Cruelty and Amity

Loonatics: United

Episode 54: Cruelty and Amity

Susan opened her eyes slowly, seeing blurry at first, but her sight began to get clearer after a couple of blinks. She gasped when finding out she wasn't home, adopting a sitting position as she had been laying on the gray, old couch she was on. The place was barely an apartment, the walls weren't painted and there was no floor, just plain concrete, a light bulb hung from the ceiling, she glanced at her sides briefly then stood up from the couch rather quickly, having spotted the door next to the other rooms, which had no doors.

"Leaving already?" Dan suddenly exited from his room and got in her way, frightening her and making her to back away a bit.

"She's got no manners, I see." Darcy came from the other room, getting behind her.

Susan looked at them both, letting out a broken gasp. "Please, let me go."

"We will, don't worry." Dan placed a hand on her shoulder. "But first, you must do something for us, remember?"

Susan growled with desperation. "Whoever you're looking for, I'm not th…" Dan covered her snout with his hand.

"Hey…" Dan warned, raising his free hand and making it to glow. "Just sit down, and let me explain it all to you, alright?" He smirked at her, Susan didn't say a word, she just lowered her glare as a reply.

Dan nodded and chuckled briefly. "Good." He slowly uncovered her snout, gesturing at the couch, Susan kept her glance on his eyes and his sister's while walking backwards. She sat down on the couch again, still glancing at the two hyenas.

Dan sighed and put his hands together, glaring down and walking in front of her. "Okay, where should I start?" He glanced upwards, seeing the mold on the ceiling and the leaks, the webs hanging on the corners and the windows opaqued by the years' grubbiness. "Since we were kids, my sis and I dreamed with a better life. Even at that age we knew there was something better, something more than the dumpster we lived in." He locked his gaze on the window. "My parents did everything they could." He slowly lowered his gaze, looking at the stained floor. "But it wasn't enough."

Darcy intervened. "Have you ever slept on the street, Susan?"

Susan didn't answer at first, but then knew Darcy was really waiting for a response. "No." She said. "I haven't."

"And that was our life for many years." Dan turned his glare at Susan, with his hands behind his back, walking. "But then, a unique, precious opportunity arrived. HarmNix pharmaceutical found us and saved our lives!" He exclaimed with sarcasm. "Money, food and bed, all in one place! No studies needed!" He stopped walking for a moment, clenching his fists. "It was an offer only a fool wouldn't accept." Dan said. "And still…" He glanced at his surroundings. "It wasn't worth it." He got thoughtful, shaking his head gently while lowering his head. "It wasn't worth it at all." Dan turned and walked towards Susan. "Look what we signed for." He got before her and gestured at himself.

Susan looked at the glowing lines of his suit. "Maybe there's a cure."

Dan chuckled. "You don't understand, Ms. Sanders. This is the cure. For us, for them."

Susan raised an eyebrow. "I…I don't understand."

"People like us." Dan pointed at himself and his sister. "There is one thing they've never dreamed with…" He raised his hands, with his palms facing upwards, making them to glow greatly. "…power."

Darcy got next to him. "We want to share it, Ms. Sanders."

"What?" Susan inquired with disbelief after figuring out their plan. "You want me to make everyone like you?"

Dan chuckled and snapped his fingers, pointing at her. "I knew you were the right one."

Susan thought for a moment, then she shook her head and lowered her gaze. "I'm not doing that." She looked at him with conviction. "I'm not."

Dan sighed, covering his face. "Ms. Sanders…" He expressed inconvenience. "…you don't know how badly I wanted to avoid what I'm about to do."

Susan instinctively got her back closer to the couch's support, looking at Dan with fear. "I wont help you."

"Well…" Dan raised his hand, its green glow dazzled Susan a bit. "…at least I have to try, don't you think?" He approached her, crouching and grasping her neck, the intense heat that emerged from his hand took her to an intense pain, her fur and skin weren't burning, but she felt like if it was the case, screaming and struggling as Darcy was holding her, sitting down next to her, she cried and moved with desperation.

"Please!..." Susan yelled. "…stop!" Her cry was loud and full of agony.

"Tell us!" Dan exclaimed. "What will you do!" He got his face close to hers. "What will you do, Susan!" She kept crying out loud, gasping, with ongoing tears of pain, struggling to get free from Dan and Darcy's hold.

Susan couldn't stand the pain anymore. "Serum!" Dan stopped hurting her when she gave the reply, Darcy held her more gently after so. Susan gasped and sobbed with her eyes closed and her head lowered. "I can make a serum." Her voice was broken.

Dan smiled and got his hand away from her neck then stroked her head. "Was it that hard…Ms. Sanders?" He fully stood up and turned, looking at her over his shoulder. "Rest." He said, making her to raise her glare at him, still full of tears. "You'll get to work tonight." He walked away from her, Darcy then stood up from the couch and followed him to his room.

"Dan." Darcy mumbled. "Where will she make that, uhm, stuff?"

"We'll take her to the labs." Dan responded.

"The labs? But the company is being investigated, you know, for…" Darcy got interrupted.

"I know, sis. That's why we are going at night. We'll deal with this just how we did with the archive room." Dan raised his hand and clenched his fist. "This is just the first step, Darcy. The first step to revolution." He poked his head a bit and saw Susan, crying while covering her face with both hands. "Watch over her." He gestured at Susan then turned and stretched, yawning and heading to his bed, which was an old mattress laying over the floor, with a thin, dirty blanket on it. He laid on it and let out a sigh of exhaustion, Darcy then returned to the tiny living room, to do what Dan had told her to do.

On the late afternoon, Tech was walking in circles at the lab, repeatedly trying to call Susan with his comm, getting always the same beeping response. After several failed tries, he grunted with frustration and walked towards the lab's exit, arriving at the living room and then approaching the button on the wall to open the window, he intended to go to Susan's apartment, but Ace interrupted his action.

"Hey, Doc. Going somewhere?" Ace inquired, this time he wasn't wearing his bodysuit, instead, he had normal civilian clothes, a black T-Shirt and a pair of jeans. Lexi was next to him, also wearing normal clothes, a pair of jeans and a pink blouse.

"Uhm, yes boss. I'll go see Susan, I am…" Tech sighed. "Quite worried."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is she okay?

"I don't know, she doesn't answer my calls." Tech explained, looking through the window with great worry.

Lexi noticed his anguish and wanted to reassure him. "Maybe she is busy, Tech."

"Maybe but…" Tech sighed and started to scratch his head. "I should make sure…"

"Hey, Doc..." Ace walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. "She must be fine." He smirked reassuringly. "Maybe you just need some fresh air, that's all."

"How much did you sleep last night?" Lexi inquired.

"Three hours, maybe two." Tech said.

Lexi chuckled. "And there's the reason."

Tech sighed. "No, Lexi, this is not a sleep issue, I'm worried because she always answers my calls, and I've spent all day trying to call her!" Lexi backed away a couple of steps by his sudden shock. He sighed with regret and looked at her. "Sorry." He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't know what to do."

"I do." Ace glanced at Lexi, smirking and gesturing at Tech, getting a nod from her, then he looked back at Tech. "Lexi and I are going to 'The Station', you should come with us."

"No, thanks but…" Tech let out another sigh, glancing again at the window. "I need to see if she is okay."

"Tech." Lexi approached them and gave Tech a friendly smirk. "It will be fun, we'll eat some wings, have some beer…what you think?"

Tech kept looking through the window, but he started to reflect on Lexi's offer, thinking on Susan, knowing she was an extremely smart woman and that she knew what to do in emergent situations, so he took a deep breath and let go a calmer, more stable sigh. "Yeah, it sounds good." He looked at Lexi and smiled at her.


	55. Episode 55: Night Of Perceptions

Loonatics: United

Episode 55: Night Of Perceptions

Night was arriving, 'The Station' was a popular pub in Acmetropolis, specially at night, it was over one of the many metallic platforms that conformed the shops of the Hadron Tower, one of the many malls in the city's downtown. The elevator's doors opened and Lexi, Ace and Tech exited from it, Tech had switched to civilian clothes just as his comrades, he wore a pair of black jeans and a dark green T-Shirt. The three Loonatics walked towards the reception of the pub, right under the glowing blue and purple, neon lighted sign.

"Hi, uhm, table for three?" Ace asked to the young lioness behind the counter, she wore a black cap and a gray blouse with the pub's logo on it, as well as black jeans.

The receptionist nodded at him with a friendly smirk. "Sure, follow me." The lioness walked into the pub. Ace let Lexi enter first then he got in followed by Tech, who immediately studied the place with his gaze, admired by its constant aesthetic, the blue and purple glowing lights were everywhere, the synthwave music playing on the background, the holographic screens streaming different types of music videos, he began to like the place already.

The lioness took them to a table on the terrace, the floor was a metallic grid, so the height could be seen clearly under their feet. "Thanks." Ace said after a brief, thankful chuckle, sitting down on one of the chairs next to the terrace's railing, resting his arm there, Lexi sat down on the opposite chair and Tech did so on the one at the middle, which faced the pub indoors area.

The lioness smiled at them with another friendly nod. "I'll call someone to take your order." She said then went back to the pub's inside.

"So…what you think?" Ace asked Tech.

Tech was already checking the menu, he put it down and nodded at Ace with approval, looking briefly around him. "It's good." He pointed at the neon lights that exited from the pub's inside and traveled over the black wall. "I like how they used the light to build up the ambient, it's like, uhm, very consistent."

Lexi chuckled. "You really like to analyze stuff, like, everytime." She raised an eyebrow jokingly, crossing her arms.

Tech grinned and raised his shoulders. "What else could I do? I'm a scientist."

"Maybe you could talk about, well, movies or something." Lexi proposed.

"Oh, I heard 'The Igniter' twelve is coming next year, it will be brutal." Ace said.

"Twelve already? That's a bit much." Lexi argued, gesturing with her finger. "But I'm gonna see it anyways."

"Uhm, igniter?" Tech raised an eyebrow at them.

"Yeah, the ones with Tom Le Pew…" Ace waited for Tech to suddenly remember what they were talking about, but his only response was a brief head shake. Ace's eyes widened a bit. "…stunt scenes, explosions, agents, no?"

"No." Tech shook his head.

Ace chuckled with disbelief. "Man, you should really watch them." Ace opined, resting his arm on the table and pointing at him. "A marathon, all the team, you're in?"

Lexi gasped with agreement, placing her hand on her boyfriend's arm. "Oh, that would be amazing! Like a sleepover!"

"Uhm, what does running has to do with a sleepover?" Tech inquired, tilting his head slightly.

Ace chuckled. "A film marathon, Doc."

Tech thought for a split of second then snapped his fingers. "You mean watching all those movies in a row?"

Ace nodded with a smirk. "See, you know what we are talking about here."

A waiter approached them, a black cat who wore gray overalls, with 'The Station' logo on it, over his casual clothes, a blue T-Shirt and jeans. "Hi, I'm Evan, I'll be your waiter tonight, may I take your order?"

"Hi, uhm, I'll have spicy wings..." Ace answered. "...and a dark beer, please."

"For you, lady?" Evan asked Lexi.

"Also spicy wings, please." Lexi replied. "Light beer."

The waiter looked at Tech. "For you, mister?"

Tech read some lines of the menu. "Uhm…a light beer and…sorry, how spicy are the spicy wings?" Tech asked, looking at Evan with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, spicy." Evan raised his shoulders.

Tech glared at Ace, who did a more-less gesture. Tech scratched his chin and nodded at the waiter. "Well, spicy then."

"Alright..." Evan sent the order with a tap on his digital notepad. "…done." He smiled at them with a nod. "Right in a moment." He walked away from them to attend another table.

Ace chuckled. "Don't worry, Tech. I'm sure you will handle them."

Tech shared the chuckle, putting down the menu again. "I hope you're right, boss."

The darkness of the night already covered HarmNix's facilities, Dan and Darcy didn't have any trouble in reaching the area where the laboratories were located, as the apartment where they lived was actually in the company's property, being one of many small residences that HarmNix forced their workers to live in. Dan, Darcy and Susan were resting their backs against the wall of the building, standing over the gray, rocky ground. Dan poked his head out and saw two members of the A.H.P. guarding the entrance to the building, one of them was a german shepherd and the other a wolf. "Okay, sis." He looked back then returned his gaze at the policemen. "When I cou…" He rapidly tuned his gaze again and noticed his sister wasn't behind him anymore, only Susan, he quickly looked back at the front and gasped when seeing Darcy running towards the guards with her hands glowing and ready to attack, screaming while the guards shot at her with their laser guns.

Darcy had her hands facing frontwards, the green glowing smoke that her hands expelled made the lasers to vanish on their way, the guards kept shooting but no laser reached Darcy. Dan got out of the cover, grasping Susan's arm and taking her with him, running towards the guards with his other hand pointing at them, and when Darcy got close to them, she jumped and shot a charge of acid at the german shepherd, as the wolf had evaded her, the german shepherd let out a scream of death while the acid went through his chest, falling to the ground with his chest steaming. Darcy was crouching, the remaining guard was standing behind her, pointing his gun at her head, almost pulling the trigger, but Dan arrived just in time to shoot acid at the guard's side, leaving him lifeless on an instant. The wolf fell down next to his comrade. Darcy breathed in and out repeatedly, smirking at Dan when recovering her breath. "Did you see that?" She got fully into her feet.

"Yes." Dan said with a straight face. "You nearly got killed." He crossed his arms. "You should listen to my instructions, sis."

"Wha…?" Darcy glanced at the dead wolf. "Oh…"

Dan sighed. "Just be more careful, okay?" Dan placed a hand on her shoulder. "We are a team, remember?"

"Yes, I…" Darcy glared down, scratching her nape. "Sor…"

Dan chuckled and patted her shoulder. "You were good, sis." He expressed, pointing at the guards. "Just listen first." He smirked at her. "That's all."

Darcy looked into his eyes, grinning slightly. "Okay."

Dan nodded and looked around briefly. "Alright." He let go off Susan's arm and got in front of the door of the building, red with yellow diagonal lines. He approached it, the door opened right away, as it was automatic. Dan chuckled and looked at Susan. "And I was already preparing these…" He briefly raised his glowing hands, Susan didn't express any reaction. Dan looked at his sides, seeing no guards on the dimly illuminated hallway. "Come on." He mumbled and hurried towards the right side followed by Darcy and Susan. Darcy ran behind her, to prevent her to try to escape or refuse going with them. The three went up a set of metallic spiral stairs and reached the second floor, Dan stopped running when seeing three guards pointing at them with their laser guns, Darcy got next to him while holding Susan's arm.

"It's over!" The leading guard exclaimed, a white tiger.

Dan thought for a moment, then he looked at Darcy and winked at her, making her to tilt her head a bit with confusion. Dan grabbed Susan and held her in front of him, with his arm pressing her neck, pointing his glowing hand at her. "Oh, really?!" He started to walk. "One move and she is dead!" He made the glow stronger. "Drop your weapons, now!"

The two guards behind the tiger, a cougar and a squirrel, shared looks of doubt. The tiger and his comrades kept pointing at them. "In your dreams, pal." The tiger said with a frown.

"Oh…" Dan looked at him with a daring glare while getting his hand next to Susan's face, hurting her the same way he had done at the apartment, making her to scream with great pain.

"No!..." Susan cried out loud, her cry echoed in the hallway.

The cougar couldn't stand seeing her suffering. "Terrence!"

Terrence kept pointing his gun at them, refusing to obey Dan. "Stop!"

"You want me to stop?!" Dan chuckled and placed his hand right on the fur of her face, applying more pressure and increasing the heat of his power. "Drop your weapons!"

Susan's screams got more intense, tears were flowing with non stop, her deep cry and her face of pain were too much for the guard's guts, he let out a scream of rage and dropped his gun violently. "Drop your guns!" He commanded, the two guards obeyed him and lowered their weapons more gently.

Dan smiled at them and got his hand away from her face. "Good boys." He kept holding Susan, who sobbed with great sorrow. Dan continued walking followed by his sister. When being between the three guards, he winked at Darcy with a slight nod, looking rapidly at her hands, Darcy made her hand to glow dimly and looked at her brother again, who confirmed with another subtle nod.

The cougar gasped when seeing Darcy raising her hand towards Terrence. "Watch ou..!" Darcy shot both at him and the tiger, with her arms extended at them, melting their chests with acid, Dan rapidly threw Susan to the floor aggressively, making her to groan while still crying, he now had both hands free, so he approached the squirrel and grasped his neck with both hands, shooting acid while holding it strongly, killing the guard instantly and dropping him after so.

Darcy walked towards Susan and helped her to stand up, grasping her arm. "How was I?" Darcy asked Dan with a cocky grin, approaching him.

Dan chuckled with approval. "You're getting just better." Dan said then they kept walking. He smirked when seeing the sign over the only door of the hallway, it said 'Lab 4'. They stopped walking right in front of it. Dan approached the handle and tried to open the door, but the handle had a fingerprint lock system, as Dan noticed by the handle's texture. He didn't hesitate on melting the handle with his power, a distorted beep sounded then he pushed the door gently with his hand and it opened. He walked into the lab, the white dazzling lights turned on automatically. "This is it." He said, walking and glancing at the tables, computers, chemicals, devices and other stuff that the lab offered. "Is this enough for you, Ms. Sanders?" He turned when reaching the central workstation, resting his hands on its edge, looking at Susan with a face of inquiry. Susan had her gaze lowered, her sobs were still present. Dan walked towards her and moved his sister's hand away from her, gesturing at her then glancing back at Susan, putting his hand on her chin and slowly raising her head until she looked into his eyes. "I made you a question."

"Y…" Susan sobbed, looking briefly at the place. "Yes." She blinked for a long moment then opened her eyes slowly, letting a couple of tears to travel down her face.

"Good." Dan smiled at her and let go off her chin slowly. "Where do we start, then?"

Susan stood silent for a moment, then she lowered her gaze and took a couple of breaths to control her still broken voice. "I need your blood."

Dan thought briefly, then he raised his arm and pulled down his sleeve, revealing the green glow of his fur. "Go ahead, Ms. Sanders."


	56. Episode 56: The Setout

Loonatics: United

Episode 56: The Setout

Tech's eyes were teary, his breathing was fast and broken, he clenched his fist over the table and tried to distract his mind by looking at the pub's view of the city. He let out a gasp and a quick exhalation. "Gah!" He took his beer and gave the bottle a long sip, putting it over the table again and breathing in and out with partial relief, looking at Lexi and Ace. "You said they weren't too spicy!" He cleaned some beer from his snout with his arm.

Ace chuckled along with his girlfriend. "Don't blame me, I thought you were going to do just fine."

"Well." Tech moved his plate of wings away from himself. "Maybe I should try something else." He took the menu and started to flip its pages to see what else he could order. "Oh, come on!" He hit the menu gently, but rather upset. "Spicy burger, spicy chips…" He raised an eyebrow, backing his head a bit. "Spicy ice cream sandwich?"

"Oh, that's a good one, actually." Lexi stated.

Tech sighed with disappointment and lowered his head, just as his ears. "It seems I'm not having any dinner tonight." His comment made Ace and Lexi to laugh a bit more loudly.

Meanwhile at HarmNix, the monitor of the lab, which was displaying the view of the microscope that Susan was using, showed two moving, liquid substances, Dan's green blood and the base of the serum that Susan was about to make. She got her eye away from the microscope's eyepiece and looked over her shoulder, Darcy was watching over her, while Dan was sleeping on a chair, with his head resting on a wall. "Need something?" Darcy asked with a straight face, she had her arms crossed and her glare locked on Susan.

Susan glanced at the test tubes on the shelf below the monitor, which had several substances. "No." She replied coldly and briefly stood over the tip of her feet to reach one of the tubes, taking it and removing its cap. She glanced back at Darcy, who just raised an eyebrow at her, Susan then returned her gaze to the microscope and took the pipette at her side, gently putting it inside the tube, getting a couple of drips of the sky blue substance it contained. She looked again through the eyepiece of the microscope, looking at the mixing substances for a moment, she then put the tip of the pipette over the slide that held Dan's blood and the serum, she slowly got her thumb off the pipette's opposite end and with that made the drips to fall gently over the mix on the microscope, spreading and mixing with it. Susan closed the tube and just placed it on the bar along with the pipette. She took the slide carefully and walked towards the machinery at the other side of the bar, Darcy walked that side to keep watching her.

"Is it ready?" Darcy asked.

Susan sighed and took a small cylindrical container from the rack among the machines, taking off its cap and putting the mix there. She closed it again with the cap and held the electronic furnace's handle for a moment, getting her glare lost on the device's opaque black. She finally opened the door, the furnace's internal white lights activated, so Susan put the container with the mix in there then closed the door again, setting the time with the numerical, touch keyboard of the machine. Her hand trembled a bit before getting her finger over the start button, finally pressing it. The furnace began to make processing beeps and sounds of progress, displaying the data of the substance on its surface as if it was a screen.

"Hey…" Darcy walked towards her. "I made you a qu…"

"Three hours." Susan responded, with her gaze still on the furnace's display.

"Three hours?!" Darcy complained, waking up Dan.

Dan stretched and let out a yawn, standing up from the chair. "How's sh…" He yawned again and walked towards them. "…How's she doing?" He rubbed his eyes then approached Susan, looking at the furnace with confusion. "Uhm, what are y...?"

Susan let out another upset sigh. "Your blood needs to merge with the serum properly." She looked at him. "It needs heat for that."

Dan sighed with frustration. "And how long will that take?"

"Th…" Susan was afraid he would get angry for her reply, but she gave it anyway. "Three hours."

Dan's eyes widened, he looked at his sister with disbelief, who just raised her shoulders. "Alright…" He expressed after a sigh, rubbing his face with his hand. "I can wait three hours." Dan walked away from them and went back to his chair, sitting down and putting both hands behind his neck, looking at the illuminated ceiling. "I can wait a bit more." He expressed. "As always."

"Come on, Doc!" Ace was trying to get Tech off his chair in order to take him to the dance floor. "We could win one month of free wings!"

"So?" Tech struggled, as Ace pulled his arm. "You think I want to put my mouth on fire again!"

Lexi chuckled, she was helping Ace out by pushing Tech from his back. "For us, Tech." Lexi pleaded. "We've seen you dancing on the lab many times."

Tech's eyes widened for a moment as he looked at Lexi rather upset. "And who let y..?" He sighed and shook a bit to get free of their hold. "Alright, alright!" He stood up from the chair and dusted off his hands, looking at his comrades with a frown, pointing at them two. "But if this is some sort of joke I'm go…"

Ace let out a friendly chuckle, patting his back. "We are being serious here, Doc." He said. "Come on." He pointed at the pub's inside with his thumb.

The dance floor was a large, black square with changing purple and blue three dimensional designs displaying on its surface, a DJ was managing the console at the bottom, playing more synthwave music, the crowd was already gathering around in wait for the contest. Ace, Lexi and Tech walked between the crowd until reaching the edge of the dance floor, looking at it for a moment. "Wow." Tech studied the moving designs. "Looks…good, I guess." He gulped a bit when seeing all the crowd around the floor then looked at Ace while scratching his nape. "Uhm, boss, maybe this is not a g…"

"Tech." Lexi glanced at him with warning and a subtle smirk. "We are not gonna let you go until you win those wings."

Tech sighed. "And if I don't win?"

"Come on, Doc." Ace said. "These guys are just amateurs, you are gonna do fin…" His ears twitched when the lights got even more dimmer and the DJ, a gray furred fox, spoke with the mic. "Alright good people how are you doing tonight here at 'The Station'?!" The crowd yelled as a reply. "That's right! And it'll get way, way better because we are receiving a special guest here at our traditional dance contest!" He pointed at his side. "And here comes...right from the Aervium colony…winner of the inter-colonial dancing tournament…three years in a row…Hanson 'The Tornado' Baxter!" A shadowed figure jumped onto the dance floor and landed with a crouch taking of his hat and holding it with his arm pointing backwards, the lights then went to their former bright and revealed the orange furred otter, who wore a white suit, just as his shoes and hat, he then glared at the crowd and got fully up, raising his arms and thanking the applauses and screams with a couple of reverences.

"Well..." Tech glanced at Ace and Lexi with a straight face. "...you can say goodbye to your wings now."


End file.
